LAURINBURG — The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center is showing a lower risk level for severe weather Friday in southeast North Carolina, but meteorologists say we’re still not in the clear.
The center has demoted the risk from a 5, high risk, to a 2, slight risk, impact to the southeast.
“This doesn’t change our overall message that a few severe storms with mainly damaging winds but possibly also a few tornadoes and/or large hail could occur from late tomorrow afternoon through the evening,” the NWS Wilmington stated in a special weather briefing.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, severe thunderstorms capable of producing strong gusts, some potentially to 75 mph, and a few tornadoes, are possible across parts of the Southeast and into the Carolinas Friday through Friday evening.
Warm-air advection showers and thunderstorms will likely spread into the region during the afternoon, ahead of the cold front approaching from the west. Strong vertical shear will be in place, and a few of these storms could produce small hail. A lower chance for stronger gusts will exist with this activity as well, largely a result of its elevated character.
The potential exists for storms to trend towards a more surface-based character as low-level moisture increases ahead of the approaching front, particularly across southern portions of the region. This could lead to a few stronger convective gusts and maybe even a brief tornado. However, poor lapse rates limited
buoyancy and persistent low-level stability should limit updraft strength and duration.
This news comes in the wake of thunderstorms, strong wind gusts and tornado threats plaguing Scotland and surrounding counties on Tuesday, resulting in the state, the county and the City of Laurinburg, each declaring States of Emergency.