Severe thunderstorm watch issued for the Charlotte area

ALERTS:

Keep your eyes on the skies and your hands on the WSOC Weather App as strong storms will be in our area later on Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Charlotte area until 9 p.m. Thursday, and it extends to eastern North Carolina.

The NWS says threats include the possibility of damaging wind gusts, isolated hail, and the potential for tornadoes.

FORECAST:

A cold front is moving into the area this morning, which will finally end the big heat and increase the risk for stronger storms this afternoon.
Highs will still hit the lower 90s before storms fire up late today. Some of these are going to be strong to severe, with damaging winds as the primary threat.
These will start early this afternoon across far northern and western areas, then move into the metro between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Scattered storm chances will linger through the weekend as well, but the focus shifts to the threat of heavy downpours.
It won’t rain all weekend, and the heat stays low, with highs just in the mid-to-upper 80s.

This week's drought monitor shows an expansion of the SEVERE drought category along and north of I-40, along with the introduction of SEVERE drought in Chester, Lancaster and most of York county. pic.twitter.com/NpAhMGwzOE
— Keith Monday (@kmondayWSOC9) July 18, 2024

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