Heavy downpours may cause flash flooding in Charlotte area | Majestic Storm forecast 7/22/26

[00:00:02]All right, turning back to your forecast. Majestic, we're expecting some heavy rain ourselves, but not until tonight.

[00:00:07]>> Yeah, we're already actually starting to see some of that rain up in the high country, just like what we've been forecasting. Those heavy downpours in the mountains, and that line will slowly start to move from the northwest to the southeast, but really the more south you are of Charlotte, the longer it's going to take for these showers and storms to get to you. We've issued a WCNC weather impact alert for tonight, even throughout the overnight hours and then into Thursday. We're concerned that some of these storms could bring heavy downpours leading to flooding and even damaging winds. So, if you have anything outside that might blow away, now's a good time to bring it inside or at least make sure it's secure. The Storm Prediction Center has nearly our entire viewing area under a low-end risk for severe storms. It doesn't mean that every single storm that forms will be severe, it just means that the ingredients will be in place for some of those storms to become a bit more fierce at times. Again, flooding is going to be the number one concern, followed by winds. We do have a small uh uh uh tornado threat, mainly to the east of us. Hail doesn't seem likely, but we're saying all modes of severe weather will be possible as these storms form. This is Doppler radar right now, so very quiet for most of us. You can see what I was talking about up in Ashe County, Ashe, Watauga, Avery County. You are starting to tap into some of that moisture. This is heavy downpours at times that may even limit down visibility if you're going to be out there traveling. Let's walk you through our future cast, timing this all out for you. So, here's about 5:00. It's important to note that most of us in Mecklenburg County will not see the rain or storms for hours, likely not until after really sunset tonight. Here's 10:00 as that line starts to stall out.

[00:01:48]That's the problem is that this is going to be a stalled front. So, it'll bring the ability for these storms to kind of train, and when storms train, they basically don't move very fast and they continue to drop quite a bit of rain over several hours. Now, here's Thursday morning at 2:00 in the morning. This is a mix of heavy rain and now thunderstorm activity. You can see how widespread it's becoming, and this will even impact the early morning commute. Here's 6:00 for your Thursday. So, if you are an early or late sleeper, you might be woken up by some of these storms. If your kids don't like storms, maybe your dogs. This is what we're getting you ready for. Again, the biggest concern will be flooding, especially in flood-prone areas. If you live in a low-lying area, you guys know how this goes. Rapid rises in rivers, streams, creeks, we're likely going to be watching that and monitoring that for you early Thursday morning. By mid-morning and early into Thursday afternoon, the heaviest rain tapers off to the east of us, but we still have more rain to go. We're really focused on Wednesday night through Thursday. This is the amount of rain that we'll likely see, anywhere from a half of an inch up to 2 in for most people. However, some people could see two to four, and then isolated amounts, wouldn't be surprised to see above 4 in. You know how dry the ground is, and when we're in a drought, the ground is so dry that it has a hard time absorbing all of that rain, especially when it's coming down so intensely. Back behind that front, who's ready for the 80s? We have several days in a row where temperatures will only climb into the 80s. Outside right now, it's still a bit deceiving. We're seeing a mix of sun and clouds. We have the heat and the humidity, and like I always say, that is fuel for those afternoon and evening storms to really get going.

[00:03:31]Remember, starting up in the northwest, continuing to slide down through Charlotte. It's not really going to be until Thursday morning, I think, that we'll see the worst of it. 86 is what we're looking at in Monroe. These are our current temperatures. 85 there in Rock Hill. High temperatures overall today, we're still bringing the heat with 90° temperatures. 93 here in Charlotte and 87 up there in Hickory.

[00:03:53]Have you noticed today how breezy it's been? I've noticed it just stepping outside. Those westerly winds really gusting anywhere from 25 to 30 miles an hour. That takes us into the afternoon.

[00:04:04]But then those winds they're going to hold steady for the next several hours even into the overnight hours. We'll be watching for down trees, down power lines with everything so dry. It doesn't take that strong of wind to knock those down. But especially within those thunderstorms if we have thunderstorm warning goes off, that means that some of those storms may have wind gusts up to around 60 miles an hour. 93° for our high temperature. By tomorrow our highs only climb into the low 80s. 80s is what we'll hold on to through Saturday before we start seeing those temperatures climb back up. Here the Jerry Hunt Supercenter 7-day forecast. Our [music] average high temperature for this time of the year is 90°. We're slightly above that and if you have any plans today, most of the day here in Charlotte will be dry. It's not until late tonight and into the overnight hours, even into our Thursday that we'll be watching for widespread and heavy rain, watching for the possibility of strong to severe thunderstorms. We'll settle into those 80s and then rounding out our weekend and into next week with the return of low to mid 90s.