Charlotte could get bad weather this weekend. Here’s what to expect and when.
Strong winds and pounding rains threaten the Charlotte area again this weekend, National Weather Service meteorologists said Thursday.
“Heavy rainfall” and “windy to very windy conditions” could blanket the region on Sunday and linger into Monday, NWS forecasters in the Greer, South Carolina, office said in a hazardous weather outlook bulletin.
The warning areas include Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, Upstate South Carolina, the Carolinas mountains and the NC Piedmont and foothills.
Charlotte, Concord and Rick Hill could see gusts up to 32 mph and Monroe up to 34 mph, according to a map of expected wind gusts issued by the NWS on X Thursday afternoon.
The NWS classifies such winds as “near gale” in their intensity.
“Whole trees in motion,” according to the NWS Estimating Wind Speed online chart. “Inconvenience felt when walking against the wind.”
Roofs can be damaged with gusts of 47 mph to 54 mph, according to the chart.
The rains could cause flooding, according to the NWS alert earlier Thursday.
Blame the possible severe weather on a strong low-pressure weather expected from the Gulf of Mexico, according to NWS forecasters.
Uncertainty over the track of the storm remained Thursday, NWS meteorologists said.
Still, “wet and windy conditions are possible by Sunday, and the winds may linger into Monday,” the NWS office said on X, formerly known as Twitter, just before 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
Severe storms also threatened the Charlotte area last weekend, but the worst of that weather hit Eastern North Carolina.
Sunny in Charlotte, then storm clouds
Charlotte should remain sunny until clouds roll in on Saturday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast at 11 a.m. Thursday
Late Saturday and early Sunday have a 50% chance of rain, the forecast showed. Sunday has an 80% chance of showers and breezy conditions through the day and night, NWS meteorologists predicted.
The chance of showers is forecast to drop to 50% on Monday before the sun returns Tuesday and Wednesday.
Expect dry conditions to persist today through Friday. Clouds return on Saturday. Wet and windy conditions are possible by Sunday, and the winds may linger into Monday. #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/WjUOsxRnde
— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) December 14, 2023
