WRAL Climate Change reporter looks at the atmospheric conditions behind today's haze and the likelihood we will see more air quality alert days.

On WRAL at 7: Our risk for more smoky days like today is going up! WRAL explains why.

When looking at developing systems, one of the most important pieces of technology that we have are the spaghetti model plots. Aptly named for their unique pasta-like appearance, these charts depict many different outcomes or simulations for a given storm. Billions of computer calculations are run with different potential atmospheric conditions (i.e., temperature, cloud cover, winds, etc.). The result is shown to be the individual strand, often represented by separate colors. There are many potential outcomes, and no model is 100% accurate. 

WRAL Weather lesson: Many models for tracking storms look like spaghetti, combine to improve forecast

Track and model plots

Check out summer movies with our cheap and free movies database, which lists 26 options for inexpensive summer movie fun.

Summer movie guide: 25 places for free, cheap kid-friendly movies

Summer movies - free movies

State troopers charged a driver whose vehicle struck and killed a Efland man walking in the median of Interstate 40 in Orange County Wednesday evening.

<b>HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.</b> — State troopers charged a driver whose vehicle struck and killed a Efland man walking in the median of Interstate 40 in Orange County Wednesday evening.

Troopers said that traffic was slowing down on I-40 West, near Exit 259, around 8 p.m. when one driver swerved into the median and struck Daniel Matthewson, 48, killing him.

The driver, whose identity hasn't been released yet, was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and failure to maintain lane control.

Anne Johnson

Driver charged with killing pedestrian on I-40

Farmer Brooks Barnes says he had a burn permit and blames drivers braking too fast for a pileup on I-795 that involved two dozen vehicles.

Farmer defends decision to burn fields before pileup crash near I-795

Tractor in field, farming

Darryl Williams' cause of death is listed as a "sudden cardiac arrest in the setting of cocaine intoxication, physical exertion, conducted energy weapon use and physical restraint," the autopsy states.

Cardiac arrest, cocaine intoxication and Taser use: Autopsy outlines Darryl Williams' deadly encounter with Raleigh police

On Tuesday, the man's mother, Sonya Williams, said her son Darryl Williams was the man who died. He was 32 and lived in Raleigh.

Four people were killed Wednesday and one person was hospitalized after a head-on crash on N.C. Highway 690 in Moore County

4 people killed, 1 hospitalized after head-on crash on Moore County highway 

Four people killed in Moore County crash

The NC Division of Air Quality has replaced the code red with a code orange air quality alert.


Scattered showers Wednesday evening with a code orange air quality

Air Quality alert for Wednesday and Thursday 

Economists believe grocery inflation should continue improving, but expect it to remain above pre-pandemic levels for the duration of the year.

Expect your grocery bill to go down, economists forecast - but not to what it was before COVID

Get the latest WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast whenever you need it, including the DUALDoppler5000 and the 7-Day Forecast.

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings are held at 3 p.m. daily. They can be seen as live or on-demand video.

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

The bill would allow betting on professional, college and other sports on phones or other electronic devices.

NC lawmakers take final vote to legalize online sports gambling

Kilauea, the second largest volcano in Hawaii, began erupting on Wednesday after a three-month pause, U.S. Geological Survey officials said.

Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, is erupting

The New York City skyline is barely visible. 

Hazy sky in New York City

Videos

The N.C. Baseball Coaches Association has released its all-state teams for the 2023 season.

N.C. Baseball Coaches Association releases all-state teams

Baseball: South Brunswick vs Hoggard (Mar. 21, 2023)

In a now-viral Facebook post, Nancy Norris claimed her daughter, Abby Norris, was left out of the school yearbook. 

'Heartbreaking:' Mother says cheerleader with special needs was left out of Clayton High School yearbook

Nancy and Abby Norris

Air quality is slowly improving in the Triangle after the first Code Red alert day in more than a decade.