Severe Outbreak Possible Friday

A storm system will increase the risk of severe weather on Friday into Friday night with all modes of severe weather possible over much of the region, primarily for the western half.

Showers and thunderstorms will be possible overnight Wednesday into Thursday across portions of North Carolina and northern South Carolina. Generally, the risk of severe weather with these will be low. However, our main focus looks to be the setup on Friday into perhaps early Friday night.

We have a considerably daunting look on Friday with a warm front to our north and a cold front to our west. We have mild southwest winds that will likely shoot some areas to as warm as 80° with dew points increasing substantially as warm, moist air streams in from the Gulf. A powerhouse storm system in association with a negatively tilted trough and cold front will began marching eastward towards the Carolinas into a sector of very warm, moist air. You can see the collusion of the cold front with the warm sector in the forecast map from the Weather Prediction Center:

This storm system will create scattered to numerous heavy showers and thunderstorm activity and will have quite a bit of wind energy that could lead to the risk of widespread high, and possibly damaging wind gusts. Given the elevated parameters, there would certainly be the risk of hail and tornadoes as well.

This has the potential to be the first notable severe weather event of the season, so check back for further details on timing, location, and intensity of the storm system as we get closer. Be aware Friday that things could get ugly, and have a way to receive warnings.