Level 1 threat: Severe weather vacates Triangle, but more on the way Wednesday

By WRAL Severe Weather Center

Raleigh, N.C. — The National Weather Service upgraded the risk for severe weather Tuesday. Counties along the North Carolina/Virginia border have a greater risk for damaging wind gusts, hail and heavy rain through early evening.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued earlier in the day for Orange and Durham Counties for about an hour. It ended at 4:30 p.m.

Severe thunderstorm watches were issued for many of our more southern counties, including Sampson, Moore, Lee and Harnett until 9 p.m.

A little after 6 p.m., the National Weather Service upgraded that watch to a severe thunderstorm warning for Cumberland, Hoke, Moore, and Harnett until 9 p.m. That warning was canceled around 6:45 p.m.

“Winds are the biggest threat with this system,” WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell said.

Raleigh and areas to the south are under a Level 1 risk for severe storms on Tuesday; that risk is a Level 2 for Greensboro, Danville, Va., and Roanoke Rapids.

A man in Sampson County experienced the wrath of the storms firsthand as a tree fell on to his pickup truck. Joe Chabot of Newton Grove says that after his pickup just sat around for almost two years, today he replaced the battery and moved the truck so he could clean it up.

“By 9 p.m. we are done with the severe weather threat,” Campbell said.

And then this happened.

Timing is everything, they say.

Tuesday will be considerably warmer than Monday. The day begins hot, muggy and dry and we could hit 85 by lunchtime. We’ll have highs in the upper 80s and potentially 90s.

It would be the first time we hit 90 degrees since Sept. 4, 2020.

“We could hit 90 today (at RDU) for the first time this year,” Gardner said.

On Wednesday, a cold front will pass through the area.

“Ahead of the front, we should have some decent forcing for storms,” said Campbell, adding that storm chances have increased on Wednesday to 40%.

Wednesday will remain warm with highs in the low-to-mid 80s.

Once the cold front passes, there will be a break from rain and storm chances on Thursday.

Temperatures will also briefly cool with highs in the upper 60s and low 70s.

A small 20% chance for rain will return overnight Thursday into early Friday morning.

Campbell said while it’s still six days out, Sunday looks like “a beautiful day for the mamas” on Mother’s Day. Highs will be in the low-to-mid 80s.