Storms on the way
By From Staff And Wire Reports
Published in News on April 28, 2014 1:46 PM
Large hail, damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes could be spawned from a series of showers and thunderstorms that will sweep across Wayne County and the central part of the state Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night.
The latest threat of severe weather comes just days after a series of tornadoes claimed the life of an 11-month-old boy. The Associated Press reported that more than 12 people were injured and that approximately 200 homes or businesses were damaged or destroyed in the storms.
Two rounds of storms are expected -- Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening and again on Wednesday afternoon into the evening, said Gail Hartsfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Raleigh.
It is still too early to provide more precise details, she said this morning.
The storms are not expected to be continuous over the period, she said. However, there is a chance of severe storms Tuesday night.
"Those are particularly dangerous because people are asleep," she said. "Everyone should be alert and vigilant and pay attention to the weather through Wednesday."
The pattern of storms begins today with a chance of showers and possible thunderstorms after 2 p.m. The chance of precipitation is 50 percent with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected, with higher amounts during a thunderstorm.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible tonight as well.
The unsettled weather pattern of showers and thunderstorms is expected to continue through the day on Thursday.
Today's high will be around 75 climbing into the low 80s through Thursday. The nighttime lows will be in the mid to upper 60s through Wednesday and near 59 on Thursday.
Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, said the boy died in a hospital Sunday but she didn't release further details or the boy's identity. More than a dozen people were reported injured and around 200 home and businesses destroyed or heavily damaged in Friday's scattered tornadoes in North Carolina.
On Sunday, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory toured that and other storm-struck areas of the state and said his prayers go out to the boy's family. He pledged to seek state and federal government assistance for the victims.