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Severe storms, damaging winds possible Christmas Eve
Raleigh, N.C. — To top off 2020, the Triangle could see severe weather, isolated tornados and damaging winds on Christmas Eve.
The Triangle is under a Level 1 risk for storms and counties east of Raleigh are under a Level 2 risk for severe storms on Thursday. There will be a strong jet stream coming in, which means there will be a great deal of wind in the atmosphere. The greatest threat for our area damaging wind gusts during the storms.
The Triangle could see some “supercells,” or rotating thunderstorms on Christmas Eve. WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said if we see enough directional sheer — or change in the wind’s direction with height — these thunderstorms could have tornados with them.
The coast has a greater potential for seeing tornados on Christmas Eve, Maze said.
Storms are most likely in the afternoon, around 3 or 4 p.m., Maze said.
Thursday will be warmer, with temperatures in the the upper 50s to mid 60s. Fayetteville, Clinton and Goldsboro will be a mild 67 degrees in the afternoon.
Christmas Eve could be considered a washout, with some showers lingering into Christmas morning. Temperatures will tumble after the front moves by and Christmas Day will be mostly dry.
Overnight, temperatures will drop. At around midnight, it will be 30 degrees across the Triangle. Rain is likely in the morning hours but should taper off well before lunchtime. Temperatures will get colder throughout the day, and Christmas night, lows will hover around 20 degrees.
Track rain with the DualDoppler5000
Unfortunately, chances are very slim for snow, even with the cold weather this year.
Backing up, it will be a quiet, dry week up until Christmas Eve. Both Tuesday and Wednesday will be average winter days, with highs in the mid 50s and plenty of sunshine. The nights will be clear and cold for any last-minute Christmas shopping and for WRAL’s Nights of Lights.
Like Christmas, the weekend will be very cold, with highs in the mid 40s.
If you’re planning to spend the holiday in the mountains, the possibility of snow is much greater with a 40 percent chance between Tuesday and Christmas.
