Thousands in Charlotte lost power after storms. Bad weather expected again Saturday.
Bad weather is expected again in Charlotte on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Afternoon and evening storms could develop, much as they did Thursday night when powerful gusts knocked out power to about 14,000 Charlotte-area customers initially, according to the Duke Energy outage map.
About 4,100 customers in Charlotte had no power at 11:15 a.m. Friday, the map showed. Outages fell to fewer than 150 by 5 p.m., the map showed.
The National Weather Service reported storms with 60-mph gusts and quarter-sized hail in Charlotte Thursday. The powerful winds felled many trees across the region, including in Charlotte’s Freedom Park, WSOC reported.
Dangerous heat wave Friday
The outages couldn’t have happened on a worse day, as a stifling, potentially dangerous heat wave began to blanket the Queen City, National Weather Service meteorologists reported.
The NWS issued a heat advisory for Mecklenburg and surrounding counties from noon to 7 p.m. Friday.
“Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur,” NWS forecaster warned in the advisory.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” according to the advisory. “Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”
The heat index soared to at least 105 in some areas, according to the NWS office in Greer, S.C. The heat index is what the temperature feels like when humidity levels and temperature are combined.
More severe storms expected
Numerous thunderstorms were expected to develop across the region again Friday night and on Saturday, according to an NWS hazardous weather bulletin early Friday.
“Any of these storms will have the potential to produce frequent lightning, gusty winds, small hail, and very heavy rainfall,” NWS forecasters said. “A few of the storms may produce damaging wind gusts of 60 mph or greater and localized flooding.”
The Charlotte weekend forecast
The chance of thunderstorms on Saturday is expected to rise from 40% during the day to 80% at night, while Sunday has a 40% chance of showers, the forecast shows.
Friday’s high stood at 95 at 5 p.m., according to the NWS. A high of 91 is expected on Saturday, before an expected cooling lowers Sunday’s high to 77 degrees, NWS meteorologists said.
The relief won’t last more than a day, however, as highs are expected to climb to 83 Monday, 89 Tuesday and 90 Wednesday.
Highs are then expected to fall once again, to 84 Thursday and 85 on Friday, the forecast showed.
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 12:59 PM.