Weather Aware: Heavy rain, gusty winds and isolated tornadoes across the Carolinas Sunday

Saturday will see off-and-on heavy rain before a chance of strong-to-severe storms on Sunday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Due to holiday travel this weekend and the highest impact from rain in awhile, the WCNC Charlotte Weather Impact Team wants you to stay Weather Aware this weekend. This is especially true on Sunday as the main front pushes through the region.

The first round of heavy rain looks to push through the Carolinas early Saturday. Expect a mostly cloudy to overcast afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 50s. Flooding isn’t a significant impact on Saturday but there will be slick spots on the roadways.

The highest threat for flooding will be for the western Carolinas closer to Asheville. Pulses of rain will continue through the evening and overnight, mainly west of Charlotte.

Weather Aware: Sunday

The main event is going to be a strong front that will push into the area starting mid-to-late morning. These storms could develop in the mountains as early as 10 a.m. and push closer to the Charlotte metro by 2 p.m. A few individual storms ahead of the main line could trigger a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning, but best severe chance will be during the afternoon hours.

The flooding risk is highest in the mountains due to this quick-moving line, pushing the highest impact along and east of Charlotte. These areas (mainly along and southeast of I-40) have a higher chance for winds 60+ mph and a spin-up tornado.

Regardless of any severe storm risk, everyone will experience heavy rain, localized flooding and gusty winds.

Closer look at the timing:

Here is the timing for storms Sunday afternoon. Any ‘kinks’ in the line could spin up a tornado. The ‘bowing’ bulges in this line will have the strongest winds. Should accelerate as it becomes more organized. A windy afternoon regardless of any storms. @wcnc pic.twitter.com/nNqMrYls7A

— Chris Mulcahy (@YOURWEATHERMAN) December 27, 2024

With the heavy rain saturating the ground, and gusty winds, isolated power outages will be possible. Please stay Weather Aware this weekend, especially on Sunday! Take caution if you need to drive anywhere, plan ahead, and make sure you have the FREE WCNC Charlotte mobile app downloaded to your phone with alerts turned on. You’ll be able to get localized notifications when severe weather happens near you.

Flood potential and rain totals:

Not writing off the the flood threat for Charlotte, but it is much higher for the Western Carolinas. The Foothills (also including Cleveland County) are trending to highest rain totals when all is said and done. Up to 1-3 inches of rain is most likely across the area with some areas getting 3-4 inches. The area of orange below could get up to 5 inches.