More severe weather, tornadoes possible in NC
A powerful storm front blamed for spawning deadly tornadoes Sunday in the central United States could bring severe weather and the threat of more tornadoes to North Carolina this week.
The National Weather Service said there is an elevated risk for severe weather late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night in the central part of the state. Severe storms with hail, damaging wind and isolated tornadoes are possible.
"We have cloudy skies in the forecast all the way until Sunday – that could be our next sunny day," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. "But more importantly, we have the threat for severe weather."
The chances for bad weather are slim Monday, she said, but increase Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We may even get into a flooding threat by Thursday because of all this rain," Gardner said. "We're talking 2 to 3 inches of rain."
The storm system is responsible for killing 16 people in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma and causing damage in several Midwest states.
Funnel clouds also touched down northwest of Joplin, Mo., and in Nebraska, and a tornado reportedly caused damage in southeast Kansas.
Tornado warnings and watches were in effect for much of the region Sunday night.
The threat to North Carolina comes just two days after at least eight tornadoes touched down in eastern North Carolina, killing at least one person – an 11-month-old boy who died Sunday morning from injuries he received during Friday's storms.