Southern states brace for tornadoes, flooding; NC sees slight chance for storms Friday

ATLANTA — Forecasters say they expect severe flooding and a tornado outbreak across the South on Thursday.

Parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee will be at high risk of strong tornadoes that can stay on the ground for miles, The National Storm Prediction Center warned. Some of the metropolitan areas in the path of Thursday’s storms include Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee; and Birmingham and Huntsville in Alabama.

The environment as the storms move in will be “very favorable for long-track strong tornadoes,” the Storm Prediction Center said in its Thursday afternoon briefing.

The same system will reach North Carolina on Friday, but the dynamics for severe storms will dissipate, WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell said.

“There is only a small 20-30% chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow,” she said. “All models show the line of storms breaking up as it crosses over the NC mountains early tomorrow.”

While thunderstorms won’t be widespread across central North Carolina on Friday, those that do form could be strong because the warm temperatures – Friday’s forecast high is in the mid-80s – will provide them with energy,” Campbell said.

By Friday evening, conditions across the Triangle should be warm and dry.

A chance for storms creeps back in over the weekend. They can’t be ruled out on either day, Campbell said.

“The better chance for rain and thunderstorms will be on Sunday,” she said. “We will likely be placed under a Level 1 or 2 risk for severe storms that day.”