Weather Conscious | Heavy rain is expected on December 29, 2024

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With the threat of severe weather looming Sunday, the Charlotte region needs to be vigilant about the weather.

Two waves of storms will hit the Charlotte area on Sunday, bringing the threat of heavy rain, gusty winds, flooding and isolated tornadoes.

A tornado warning is in effect for Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford and Union counties until 1 p.m. Chester, Lancaster and York counties in South Carolina are also under a tornado watch until 1 p.m

A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Rutherford County until 8:45 a.m. Areas affected by this storm include Forest City, Rutherfordton, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. A separate severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until 9:30 a.m. for Chester and York counties in South Carolina. The National Weather Service reported gusts of 60 mph on radar for this storm cell.

The first round of heavy rain swept across the Carolinas early Saturday, bringing heavy rains across the region.

The main event will be a strong front moving into the area from mid-morning. These storms could develop in the mountains as early as 5 a.m. and move closer to metro Charlotte by 10 a.m. This first line of storms will have the greatest impact with gusty winds exceeding 60 mph and heavy rain.

Because of this fast-moving line, the risk of flooding is highest in the mountains and will have the greatest impacts along and east of Charlotte. Regardless of severe thunderstorm status, everyone will experience gusty winds, heavy rain and intermittent localized flooding.

Recent trends indicate a smaller, second line of storms will move through the metro (mainly along and southeast of I-40) between 4:00 p.m. and southeast of I-40. This one will be much more isolated, but if there is enough storm fuel, an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

There is also a risk of isolated power outages due to heavy rain that soaks the ground and gusty winds. Please plan accordingly, charge your devices, use multiple ways to receive alerts, and avoid traveling when possible. If you have the free WCNC Charlotte mobile app downloaded to your phone with alerts enabled, you will receive localized notifications when severe weather affects you.

WCNC Charlotte caught up with travelers heading out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport for more vacations on Saturday. Some admitted they had already faced problems the night before the storm.

“I was about two hours late, two and a half I think, plus an hour layover is three hours,” Kasey Kane said.

Many people chose to wait at the airport, including William “Catfish” Marston, who said he expected delays and planned ahead.

“I’m on vacation until January 6th, so I’m just cruising,” he said. “Ride waves.”

However, Kane said the delays meant he would be home much later than expected.

“We’ll just be home around 12 or 1 a.m.,” he said. “We originally planned to be home around 10:30.”

As of 5:30 a.m. Sunday, 200 delays and nine cancellations were reported in Charlotte Douglas.

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