Raleigh, North Carolina – Residents across the Carolinas should prepare for potentially disruptive thunderstorms Sunday afternoon, with damaging wind gusts posing the greatest concern during the second half of the day. The threat extends into southeast Virginia and parts of the Tennessee Valley, where storms could create hazardous travel conditions, down tree limbs, and lead to scattered power outages before moving east Sunday night.
According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center and Storm Prediction Center, scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to develop across the Carolinas, southeast Virginia, and the Tennessee Valley Sunday afternoon before expanding into portions of the northern Plains later Sunday into Sunday night. The primary hazard is damaging straight-line wind, although locally heavy rainfall and frequent lightning will also accompany stronger storms.
Communities from Charlotte and Greensboro to Raleigh, Fayetteville, Columbia, Charleston, and Wilmington could experience rapidly changing weather as thunderstorms move through. Motorists should be prepared for sudden reductions in visibility during heavy downpours, ponding on roads, and isolated debris from fallen branches. Outdoor events may need to pause as lightning develops well ahead of the heaviest rain.
Farther west, monsoonal moisture will continue fueling widespread thunderstorms across portions of Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, Colorado, and neighboring areas of the Southwest. Some locations could receive enough rainfall in a short period to trigger flash flooding, especially near burn scars, slot canyons, urban areas, and normally dry washes.
Across the northern Plains, another corridor of thunderstorms is expected to strengthen late Sunday, bringing the potential for damaging winds into parts of the Dakotas and surrounding states through Sunday night.
Anyone in areas under the severe weather threat should have multiple ways to receive warnings, charge electronic devices before storms arrive, and move indoors immediately if thunder is heard. Additional watches or warnings may be issued as thunderstorms develop Sunday afternoon and continue into Sunday night.
