Scattered storms to roll in Monday afternoon ⛈️ with severe threat for next several days
Grab your umbrella! The rain isn't over yet. We have potential to see thunderstorms and showers every day until the weekend.
Monday's warm and muggy atmosphere brings a chance of scattered storms by the afternoon and evening.
"Some showers and thunderstorms start to push in around 2 or 3 o' clock in the afternoon," said WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner. "We're likely to see some gusty winds with that between 2 and 6 o' clock."
Tonight will be mostly cloudy and scattered storms will be possible between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Tuesday and Wednesday both bring a level 1 (out of 5) risk for severe storms, bringing a chance for damaging winds, heavy rain and potential for hail. Thursday also brings a chance of severe storms.
- Monday night: Mostly cloudy, storms possible overnight. Lows around 66 degrees.
- Tuesday: Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Highs in the upper 80s.
- Wednesday: Partly cloudy and hot with highs in the low 90s. We'll also see the chance for a stray shower or storm.
Rain chances continue this week, heat returns
Our stretch of unsettled weather continues this week, and temperatures will also ramp back up this week, climbing into the 90s by Wednesday and Thursday.
Rain chances will continue throughout the week -- with a level 1 risk for severe storms on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"The environment is ripe for storms for storms to strengthen and produce damaging winds and hail," WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell said. "However, there is not a strong mechanism around to cause showers to storms to form."
Campbell said any storms that do form should strengthen and could become severe.
Our storms chances drop from 40% on Tuesday to 30% on Wednesday, but it's likely storms won't form because of a lack of an organized system. If they do form, they could be severe due to the hot and humid environment.
We'll most likely see the same risk level or higher for Thursday and Friday, but no severe risk has been issued yet. Gardner said damaging winds will be the biggest threat, and rain will be heavy at times.
After a brief break from 90-degree temperatures, the summer-like heat is set to return Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday has a high of 92 degrees, but it could feel even hotter.
Things will feel tropical on Thursday before we drop to more comfortable humidity levels on Friday as a cold front moves into the area.
With all this warm weather, the flowers and trees are blooming – meaning pollen counts are high. If you're sneezing, spring allergies could be to blame.
As of April 29, rainfall stats for our area are down from normal levels. RDU is in a 2.29" deficit for April while Fayetteville is in a deficit of more than an inch.
7-day forecast for central NC
- Monday night: Mostly cloudy, storms possible overnight. Lows around 66 degrees.
- Tuesday: Small chances for showers in the afternoon and evening. High of 87.
- Wednesday: Partly cloudy skies with a chance for showers and storm. Potentially the hottest day of the year with highs in the low 90s.
- Thursday: Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s.
- Friday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High of 78.
- Saturday: Sunshine and clouds mixed. High of 74.
- Sunday: Chance of Rain and Thunderstorms. 30% chance of precipitation. High of 76.
Prepare for a busy 2024 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will see 15 to 20 named storms in the Atlantic basin, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.
The number of named storms is significantly higher than the long-term average and moderately higher than recent 30-year averages, according to Lian Xie, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State.
In 2024, NC State researchers predict:
- 15-20 named storms
- 10 to 12 may grow strong enough to become hurricanes (the historical average is six)
- Three to four becoming major hurricanes
Meanwhile, forecasters at Colorado State University are calling for 24 named storms in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. That is higher than the average year, when 14 storms earn a name.
CSU forecasters say 11 storms will reach hurricane strength, up from the average of seven, and five of those hurricanes could be "major," that is Category 3, 4 or 5, with winds over 111 mph.
