Month: July 2021

By Zach Maloch, WRAL meteorologist It should not surprise many of you that summer in North Carolina involves the heat, humidity and afternoon storms. We have seen it all this past week with heat index values climbing into the triple digits the past few days and severe storms producing localized downbursts, which caused damage on Wednesday. While the heat and humidity are easier to understand, those “pulse-severe,” localized storms are a bit more complex. In…

By The Associated Press BENSALEM, Pa. — At least five people were injured when severe weather struck an auto dealership, homes and other businesses in eastern Pennsylvania, authorities said. The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down Thursday in Bucks County, sending trees falling and debris flying. The thunderous downpour flooded streets and roadways. “I have been doing this for 34 years, I haven’t seen that sort of devastation from a storm,” said Bensalem…

By The Associated Press MILWAUKEE — At least three tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin amid powerful thunderstorms that caused widespread damage that contributed to the death of a man who crashed into a fallen tree and power line, officials said Thursday. The severe weather stretched from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan and began Wednesday evening in northwestern Wisconsin. By 2 a.m. Thursday, the numerous tornado warnings around the state had expired. Hours later, one…

Tornado watches and tornado warnings have different purposes, and you should react to each differently, AccuWeather explains. A tornado watch is typically issued hours in advance by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC). It means that conditions are ideal for a tornado to form. A watch will not necessarily result in severe weather, AccuWeather explains. “A watch is issued when conditions are favorable, for example, either for a severe thunderstorm or tornadoes,” AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Dan…

By DAKE KANG, Associated Press XINXIANG, China — The night the rains came, all Yu Ruiping could do was huddle in her market stall. The electricity went out. Her phone went dead. And the water just kept rising. When the skies cleared, the market was surrounded by chest-high water — trapping Yu and her husband for two days with nothing to eat but a few packages of instant noodles. “It was the most water I’d…

By WRAL Weather Team Raleigh, N.C. — Much of central North Carolina is under a Level 1 or Level 2 risk for severe weather Wednesday as we enter a brutal three-day stretch of heat with some of the hottest temperatures of this summer so far. Storms on Wednesday will be isolated in nature, but any storms that do form could become severe with damaging wind gusts, according to WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth. Storms could pop…

By Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter Princeton, N.C. — As much as five inches of rain fell overnight, causing flash flooding in parts of Johnston and Harnett Counties. It flooded several homes and businesses in the town of Princeton in a matter of hours. Businesses on South Pine Street say these storm drains can not keep up with rain even in smaller storms — let alone the heavy rain they saw Monday night. But the town’s mayor is hoping these…

By The Associated Press INDIAN FALLS, Calif. — Cooler weather on Tuesday helped calm two gigantic wildfires in the U.S. West, but a tally of property losses mounted as authorities got better access to a tiny California community savaged by flames last weekend and to a remote area of southern Oregon where the nation’s largest blaze is burning. Scientists say evidence shows Oregon’s Bootleg Fire generated its own “fire tornado” this month, with winds higher…

By WRAL Weather Team Raleigh, N.C. — More rain could hit our state Tuesday afternoon and evening. Showers will likely hit the Triangle around 4 p.m. Thunderstorms dumped between 3 and 5 inches of rain in areas south and east of the Triangle overnight. The heaviest rain fell in Wayne and Sampson counties around 4:30 a.m. Parts of Johnston County and Harnett County saw flooded roads overnight and Flash Flood Warnings were issued. By 7…

By WRAL Severe Weather Center It’s been a beautiful weekend across the Triangle, but all that will change on Monday when our rain chances return. We’ll see scattered showers and thunderstorms pop up on Monday afternoon, starting in the north of our state and moving toward the south. The storms are coming as a cold front to the north moves down into our state. Some areas are under a Level 1 severe risk on Monday….

By The Associated Press LONDON — Londoners were cleaning up Monday after torrential rain left homes, roads and several subway stations flooded, the second unseasonal inundation in as many weeks. The Met Office weather agency said 41.6 centimeters (16 inches) of rain fell in central London on Sunday afternoon. Monday was drier, but the Environment Agency said four flood warnings remained in place for southeast England. Two London hospitals asked patients not to come to…

By The Associated Press NEW DELHI — Days of landslides and flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains in western India’s Maharashtra state killed at least 113 people and injured 50, officials said Sunday, as rescuers scrambled to find at least 100 missing. A government spokesperson, Sandhya Garware, said over 130,000 people were rescued from nearly 900 affected villages across the state. Many were stranded on rooftops or atop buses on highways. India’s navy also said…