Breaking Down Tuesday’s Severe Threat

Flash flooding and damaging straight-line winds are the main threats, but considerable tornado potential develops south and east of the Queen City by Tuesday afternoon.
James Scott,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Our second day of the workweek is going to get nasty. Let’s break it down.

Severe Threat Map

TIMING

Overnight Monday – Tuesday afternoon

Ecmwf 9km Wind Gusts

KEY POINTS

  • Rain begins overnight, may start as wintry mix in mountains
  • Heavy rain arrives after sunrise
  • Severe threat develops by afternoon
  • All will see heavy rain, gusty winds upwards of 50 mph
  • Tornado threat south and east of Metro

Gfs Rainfall Totals

IMPACTS

  • 2-3″+ of rain across area
  • Localized flash/river flooding across area, especially northwest of I-85
  • Scattered power outages, downed trees
  • Poor travel conditions for Tuesday AM commute

BOTTOMLINE

Stay inside if you can on Tuesday, especially after sunrise. Soaking rains in the morning will make it easy for strong wind gusts to knock over trees (and powerlines) in the afternoon. The tornado threat is considerable south and east of Charlotte, but a widespread outbreak for our area is unlikely. Make sure you have multiple ways to receive alerts – we’re going to get quite a few.