Locally Severe Storms Today: Norfolk to Charleston
The storm invading the East today will be best remembered for its disruptive snow and soaking rain, but locally severe thunderstorms are another threat.
The stage is not set for a widespread outbreak of severe weather, but a handful of thunderstorms could turn violent.
The threat zone lies from southeastern Virginia to eastern South Carolina.
This includes the cities of Norfolk, Va., Raleigh and Wilmington, N.C., and Florence and Charleston, S.C.
All of these cities will once again bask in unseasonable 70-degree warmth today as noticeably cooler air approaches.
As the two distinctly different air masses collide, a few thunderstorms with damaging winds will erupt this afternoon. An isolated tornado touching down and causing destruction cannot be ruled out.
The severe weather threat will quickly diminish tonight with the cooler air's arrival.
Thursday will feel more like a typical December day across the Southeast with highs in the 50s expected.
More Weather News
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Dangerous Storms Friday Pennsylvania to Georgia
May 31, 2012; 11:05 AM ET
Locally damaging thunderstorms are forecast during Friday for tens of millions of people in the East in the I-81 and I-95 corridors.
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Remembering the Devastating Johnstown Flood
May 31, 2012; 11:00 AM ET
Today is the 123rd anniversary of the Great Johnstown Flood.
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"Mothership Cloud" Supercell Tornado In Texas
May 31, 2012; 10:56 AM ET
Storm chasers spotted the storm on May 21.
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Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 1985
May 31, 2012; 10:12 AM ET
One of Canada's worst tornado outbreaks left 12 people dead and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage on May 31, 1985.
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Wild "Street Geysers" Erupt in Montreal Rainstorm
May 31, 2012; 9:35 AM ET
Dramatic scenes of flooding have been captured on the inundated streets of Montreal, following Tuesday's extraordinary cloudbursts.
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Tropical Activity Continues in the Caribbean
May 31, 2012; 9:24 AM ET
Showers and thunderstorms continue to bubble up in the northwestern end of the Caribbean at midweek.
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Europe Forecast Summer 2012
May 31, 2012; 9:21 AM ET
Much of Europe will be slightly warmer than normal this summer...
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Racing the Storm: The 1999 Crash of American 1420
May 31, 2012; 8:39 AM ET
As the sun set on the first day of June in 1999, passengers of American Airlines Flight 1420 boarded an MD-82 aircraft in Dallas, Texas, destined for Little Rock, Ark. It was warm, the air humid, and the stage set for disaster.
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Violent Storm Risk San Antonio to Cincinnati
May 31, 2012; 7:55 AM ET
Tens of millions of people from San Antonio and Houston to Indianapolis and Cincinnati will be in the path of locally violent storms into Thursday night.
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Photos: Aftereffects of Tropical Storm Beryl
May 31, 2012; 6:28 AM ET
"Beryl, shmeryl..." No serious damage has been reported.
Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 111° | Death Valley, CA |
| Low | 19° | Angel Fire, NM |
| Precip | 3.88" | New Bern, NC |
WeatherWhys®
May 31 is infamously known as an unlucky day, weatherwise, for Pennsylvania. Heavy rain in 1889 caused a dam upstream from Johnstown to fail. The resultant massive flood killed more than 2,200 people. In 1985, western Pennsylvania was struck by a major tornado outbreak. Severe weather, including damaging winds, hail and tornadoes, slammed more of the state in 1998.
This Day In Weather History
Johnstown, Pa. (1889)
Flood disaster. Heavy rains caused overtopping of a 90-foot-high earthen dam on the Conemaugh River, 14 miles north in the mountains. The dam gave way, and a torrent of water roared down on the city at 50 mph. The force of the water moved a 48-ton locomotive a mile. More than 2,200 people died.
Washington, D.C. (1991)
The city had an average temperature of 73 degrees, making May 1991 the warmest May on record. There were a record 11 days of 90-degree heat.
Rough Weather
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