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Tornado watch issued ahead of more possible storms
A tornado watch means severe weather remains possible in Charlotte, and locations to the south and east, in the hours ahead.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were no immediate reports of storm damage following two tornado warnings early Monday afternoon in Mecklenburg, Gaston, and York counties.
As of 1:45 p.m., there were no active warnings in Charlotte or surrounding counties in North Carolina and South Carolina. However, a tornado watch, which means the threat of severe weather continues over the coming hours, continues for the threat from additional storms throughout the afternoon Monday.
Counties located inside the tornado threat are located south and east of Charlotte, and include Mecklenburg County. The locations include but are not limited to Anson, Montgomery, Stanly, Cabarrus, Richmond, Union, Mecklenburg, Chesterfield, Lancaster, Chester, and York.
Severe weather earlier Monday left damage behind in Georgia as it moved eastward into the Carolinas.
As seen earlier Monday afternoon, WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich said the biggest threat from these continued afternoon storms will be damaging, straight-line winds. He still could not rule out the possibility of isolated tornadoes, and hail.
Monday marks the first of three days in a row with the possibilities of isolated-to-scattered severe weather.
“The next three days are going to be active, to say the least,” Panovich said.
Despite a few, localized brief power outages Monday, there were no widespread Duke Energy outages reported, according to the power company’s dashboard.
“Our primary concern is straight-line winds,” Panovich said. “Any time you have severe weather there’s at least a small risk for tornadoes, but it’s only about 1-2%. Don’t rule it out, but the severe threat is primarily driven by damaging winds.”
As the first cluster of storms moves east of Charlotte, eyes turn to the possible second round.
The second line of storms is expected to move through the area Monday afternoon with a greater chance of severe weather due to the heating of the day.
The image below shows a futurecast prediction of what radar could look like in the Carolinas around 4 p.m. Monday.
Tuesday will see another threat of strong storms in the afternoon. Panovich said the current setup looks like what’s known as a “bow echo,” which can have supercells embedded along a line of storms.
RELATED: What is a bow echo?
“To me, this is more of a worrisome setup,” Panovich said. “This is likely going to be shifted east at some point. At 4 o’clock, it’s expected to be over Charlotte and I-77 and will continue to push east Wednesday.”
If you find yourself inside a tornado warning, you should immediately seek shelter inside a sturdy structure. Inside that structure, you want to find the most interior room on the lowest level of the structure. Basements are most ideal but in buildings without basements, you could consider an indoor closet, bathroom, or any interior room.
You should be sure to protect your head with a helmet or pillow. When entering the shelter, you should ideally be wearing shoes and pants. In the event you encounter damage when exiting your shelter, the clothing could help protect you against storm debris.
Contact Brad Panovich at bpanovich@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.