Tag: North Carolina storms

  • Storm Updates: Carolinas Wind Pulse + Upper Mississippi Flood Slight — Friday, September 18, 2026

    This is a live Friday afternoon snapshot of U.S. local-storm activity as of Friday, September 18, 2026. The Storm Prediction Center 2000 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook holds a Marginal Risk of isolated severe thunderstorms from the Carolina Piedmont into northern Georgia, northern Iowa, parts of the central High Plains, and parts of the Intermountain West. No convective watches are valid. Mesoscale discussions referenced in the 2000 UTC package (MCDs 2306 and 2307) are no longer in effect. The Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook is the organized ticket: Slight Risk over portions of the Upper Mississippi Valley and a second Slight Risk over southwest Montana. There is no named tropical cyclone in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, or central Pacific.

    These are county- and ZIP-scale thunderstorms and flash-flood pulses, not a mainland hurricane landfall. Restoration exposure this afternoon is wind and trees already verifying across central North Carolina, isolated hail leftover from Intermountain cells, and water tonight from southeast Minnesota into west-central Wisconsin. Conditions change fast. Verify with the National Weather Service for the specific county or ZIP before you roll.

    What is live this afternoon

    SPC issued the 2000 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook at 0241 PM CDT, valid 182000Z–191200Z. Forecasters Chalmers and Wendt made only minor adjustments from the midday package. Headline: an isolated severe risk continues for portions of the Carolinas into northern Georgia and parts of the Intermountain West. Isolated severe storms are also forecast later today across portions of northern Iowa and parts of the central High Plains. Risk-area population centers listed by SPC include Charlotte, Atlanta, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Durham. Categorical risk is Marginal only. No Slight Risk on Day 1. No tornado probabilities in the 2000 UTC categorical headline. Risk-area size on the 2000 UTC graphic is about 179,316 square miles covering roughly 19.6 million people.

    Current convective watches: none. SPC watch page last updated 1805 UTC Friday: no watches currently valid. Most recently issued watch remains Severe Thunderstorm Watch 669, already expired. Do not treat 669 as a live product.

    The 2000 UTC discussion points to MCDs 2306 and 2307 for additional information. By late afternoon the live MD list showed no mesoscale discussions currently in effect. Most recently issued discussion on the current-MD page was 2305. Treat those numbers as the latest issued discussions, not standing watches.

    WPC Day 1 excessive-rainfall language valid 16Z Friday through 12Z Saturday holds Slight Risk for portions of the Upper Mississippi Valley and southwest Montana. The 16Z update expanded the eastern edge of the Slight and high-end Slight about one to two counties into southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois, where recent heavy rain left the ground sensitive. Highest amounts still focus over southeast Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, with model-consensus QPF in the 2 to 4 inch range. A separate Slight Risk covers southwest Montana. Marginal Risk remains over South Florida and the Keys, a remnant Intermountain/Southwest terrain corridor, a Northern Plains strip, and a thin Ohio Valley pocket. WPC’s short-range discussion already flags a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall Saturday over parts of the Upper Great Lakes into the Middle Mississippi Valley. That is tomorrow’s water upgrade, not today’s Day 1 map.

    Hotspot 1 — Carolina Piedmont into northern Georgia

    A wavy stationary front this morning ran from southern Illinois through southern Indiana and southern Ohio into southwest Pennsylvania. Decaying showers preceded it from southern Illinois into northern Kentucky. The boundary is shifting south as cooler air follows a shortwave through southern Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes. The front is relatively weak, but it is interacting with a warm, moist, diurnally destabilized airmass across the Carolina Piedmont and northern Georgia. Precipitable water is over 2 inches. Vertical shear is weak. Storm mode is outflow-dominant. The risk is occasionally strong downbursts, not a long-lived supercell corridor.

    That language already verified this afternoon. Preliminary LSRs on the 18/1200Z cycle include a 69 mph gust at KGSO (5 ESE Colfax, Guilford County), a 66 mph gust at KFAY (4 ENE Hope Mills, Cumberland County), trees down on I-85 near Route 68, trees blocking roads in Randolph, Davie, Iredell, Rowan, Chatham, and Moore counties, and a power-company outage from downed trees northwest of Craven in Rowan County. Those are trees-on-pavement and trees-on-wires tickets in the Charlotte–Greensboro–Fayetteville corridor, not a watch-scale outbreak.

    Restoration read: wind first. Stage tree, tarp, and board-up capacity for the Piedmont counties that already have LSRs. Hail is not the lead threat on this corridor. Water is secondary unless a cell trains over the same ZIP that already took a 2-inch precipitable-water plume.

    Hotspot 2 — Upper Mississippi Valley water

    A Northern Plains disturbance continues east from the Dakotas across southern Minnesota into Wisconsin tonight. WPC keeps the Slight Risk and high-end Slight focused on southeast Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, with the eastern edge nudged into southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois because those counties already took rain. Local NWS language from La Crosse this afternoon still has 1–3 inches likely and 4–6 inches possible in pockets, with a Flood Watch south of I-94 and rivers such as the Kickapoo at Gays Mills and Viola and the Cedar at Charles City expected to reach minor flood stage if the heavier corridor verifies.

    SPC’s northern Iowa Marginal is a separate overlay: elevated storms tonight on warm-air advection and a moderate low-level jet, with isolated hail the primary severe hazard and a strong gust or two if any linear structures develop. That is hail and wind on the southern edge of the water corridor, not a Slight Risk severe day.

    Restoration read: water first from southeast Minnesota through west-central Wisconsin into northeast Iowa tonight. Extraction and wet-drywall clocks start the same night if water is inside. Do not send the same crew to a Piedmont tree job and a Kickapoo basement without checking which county has a warning now.

    Hotspot 3 — Intermountain West and central High Plains

    A shortwave trough continues east into southern Idaho and northern Utah. Highs stay relatively cool — upper 60s in southern Idaho, low to mid 70s in northern Utah — but cold temperatures aloft plus strong deep-layer shear still support organized updrafts. Isolated severe gusts and small hail remain the SPC language. That already verified on today’s LSR cycle: 1.50-inch hail 2 W of Kaysville in Davis County, Utah, and quarter-size hail near Farmington in San Juan County, New Mexico.

    On the High Plains, a mid-level vorticity maximum lifting north-northeast later this evening may support isolated severe gusts and a conditional, less-than-5-percent hail risk if a more cellular mode holds into better low-level moisture near the Colorado–Nebraska–Kansas border. Storms may grow upscale into a small eastward-moving cluster this evening. Isolated outflow surges, not a derecho.

    Restoration read: hail first if cells verify over the Wasatch Front or the Four Corners. Wind second if High Plains clusters organize. Flash-flood risk on this corridor is Marginal to isolated except for the separate southwest Montana Slight Risk, where WPC introduced Slight coverage after Thursday’s cell behavior and 0.5–1.5 inch guidance.

    Just hit

    SPC preliminary storm reports for the current 18/1200Z–19/1159Z cycle already include one brief landspout at Lighthouse Point in Broward County, Florida (palm fronds lofted; no damage path described as a supercell tornado), quarter to 1.50-inch hail in San Juan County, New Mexico, and Davis County, Utah, and a long list of North Carolina wind reports from Davie, Guilford, Randolph, Cumberland, Iredell, Rowan, Chatham, and Moore counties, including measured 69 mph at Greensboro and 66 mph at Fayetteville.

    The last 24-hour ticket pile on the prior cycle (17/1200Z–18/1159Z) is the Idaho hail outbreak the morning desk already logged: tennis-ball hail (2.50 inches) near Rose in Bingham County, golf-ball hail in Blackfoot and Shelley, quarter to 1.25-inch hail across Bingham, Blaine, Jefferson, and Bear Lake counties, plus 1.50-inch hail at Midway, Wasatch County, Utah, and 1.50-inch hail near Broadwater, Morrill County, Nebraska. Wind on that cycle included power lines down at Lewisville, Jefferson County, Idaho; a 61 mph gust south-southwest of Mud Lake; trees in Beavercreek, Greene County, Ohio; a tree-fall injury in Ashland, Boyd County, Kentucky; and trees in Tippecanoe and Carroll counties, Indiana. A brief tornado touchdown was reported 11 NNE of Chappell in Garden County, Nebraska. Those products are expired. The roofs and cars in Bingham County are still the ticket.

    This morning’s Storm Tracker already covered the 1300 UTC outlook family. This afternoon desk updates to the 2000 UTC package, confirms still-zero watches, and adds the live North Carolina LSR cluster and the WPC 16Z flood-edge nudge into southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois.

    Pulse table

    RegionMain threatsSPC / NWS / WPC levelStatus this afternoon
    Carolina Piedmont / northern GADownburst wind, trees, wiresSPC MarginalLive — LSRs already in
    SE MN / west-central WI / NE IAFlash flood, 2–4″ swathsWPC Slight (high-end core)Tonight’s organized water ticket
    Northern Iowa / far southern MNIsolated hail, isolated gustsSPC MarginalElevated storms tonight
    Southern ID / northern UT / Four CornersIsolated hail and severe gustsSPC MarginalLive cells; 1.50″ hail at Kaysville
    Central High PlainsIsolated severe gustsSPC MarginalEvening cluster if heating holds
    Southwest MontanaFlash flood, 0.5–1.5″WPC SlightDiurnal terrain cells
    South Florida / KeysUrban flooding, landspout noiseWPC MarginalDiurnal; one brief landspout LSR
    Bingham County ID (overnight)Tennis-ball to golf-ball hailLSRs prior cycleJust-hit
    Atlantic / Gulf vs. U.S. mainlandNo named cycloneNHC: no tropical cyclonesQuiet on the mainland coast

    What this means for restoration teams

    The live ticket this afternoon is wind on the Carolina Piedmont: trees, wires, and a measured 66–69 mph pair at Greensboro and Fayetteville. Isolated Intermountain hail is a roof and auto-glass survey if cells keep firing over the Wasatch Front or Farmington, New Mexico. The organized ticket tonight is still water from southeast Minnesota through west-central Wisconsin. Idaho’s overnight tennis-ball hail around Blackfoot, Rose, and Shelley is a separate just-hit staffing problem from this afternoon’s Piedmont wind.

    For teams near the Carolina Marginal: the warnings and LSRs are already out. Photograph damage in daylight if it is safe, call the carrier, and start extraction the same night if water is inside. Turn around, don’t drown on Upper Mississippi and Montana washes.

    What this is not

    This is not a Slight Risk severe day, not a live convective watch, and not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. MCDs 2306 and 2307 are not watches. The Broward landspout is a brief landspout LSR, not a tornado outbreak. NHC reports no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, or central Pacific as of this afternoon. The work, if it keeps verifying, will be scattered: a tree swath through a Piedmont county, a hail report on the Wasatch Front, and heavier rain over southeast Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin tonight.

    Looking ahead

    SPC Day 2 (Saturday) holds a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms late Saturday afternoon and evening from northwest Oklahoma into eastern Kansas, with more isolated severe storms possible across the central High Plains, central Rockies, and the Midwest to Southeast. The 1730 UTC Day 2 summary calls for scattered severe wind and hail-producing storms on the central Plains. WPC already has a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall Saturday over parts of the Upper Great Lakes into the Middle Mississippi Valley. The next Storm Tracker update should re-check the 0100 UTC Day 1 outlook, any new watches, and whether that Moderate flood risk is the morning headline rather than assuming today’s Marginal stays the last word.

    Sources and how to verify

    Primary sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center Sep 18, 2026 2000 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook (Chalmers/Wendt); Day 2 Convective Outlook; current convective watches (none valid; last issued Watch 669); current mesoscale discussions (none in effect); SPC preliminary storm reports for the 20260918 cycle and 20260917 cycle; Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook (Campbell, 332 PM EDT Fri Sep 18, 2026); National Hurricane Center Tropical Weather Outlook, September 18, 2026 (no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, or central Pacific).

    Check weather.gov for the county warning, spc.noaa.gov for the outlook, watch, MD, and LSRs, and WPC excessive rainfall for the flood overlay. Morning desk for this calendar day: Storm Updates: Carolinas–Georgia + Iowa Marginal, Upper Mississippi Flood Slight — Friday, September 18, 2026 (Morning).

    Informational only — not an official weather warning. Follow local authorities and the National Weather Service. Turn around, don’t drown.

  • Storm Updates: Upper Midwest Slight Risk, VA–NC Wind Scatter — Friday, September 11, 2026

    This is a live Friday afternoon snapshot of local storm-type events across the United States as of Friday, September 11, 2026. The organized pulse is still ahead of most radar cores: the Storm Prediction Center 2000 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook keeps a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms across the Upper Midwest for late this afternoon and tonight. No convective watches are currently valid. Mesoscale Discussion 2281, issued 1937 UTC, flags a lower-end damaging-wind threat over parts of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina with watch issuance unlikely. The Weather Prediction Center holds a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall in far southern Arizona and northern Minnesota.

    These remain county- and ZIP-scale thunderstorms, not a mainland hurricane landfall. Tropical Storm Norbert is in the Eastern Pacific well west-southwest of Baja California and poses no threat to U.S. land. Restoration exposure this afternoon is wind, water, hail, and trees: large hail and damaging wind in the Minnesota–northeast South Dakota Slight Risk, isolated wind in the Virginia–North Carolina scatter, flash-flood rates in northern Minnesota and Santa Cruz County, Arizona, plus residual hail and pole work from last night’s Texas Panhandle event. Conditions change fast. Verify with the National Weather Service for the specific county or ZIP before you roll.

    What is live this afternoon

    No severe thunderstorm or tornado watches are in effect as of the SPC watch page update Friday afternoon. The most recently issued watch remains Watch 665 from earlier in the week. Today’s official Local Storm Reports page (1200 UTC Friday through 1159 UTC Saturday) still shows no new tornado, hail, or wind reports in that window. Last night’s reports sit on the September 10 LSR page.

    SPC’s 2000 UTC Day 1 outlook (forecaster Wendt, issued 0300 PM CDT) is mostly on track from the morning package. Scattered severe thunderstorms capable of large hail (some 2+ inches), damaging winds, and a couple of tornadoes are expected late this afternoon and tonight across parts of the Upper Midwest. Initiation farther south into the central Plains remains more uncertain and conditional. Marginal wind/hail probabilities were extended into more of central Kansas for overnight conditional storms as the cold front reaches northern Kansas Saturday morning.

    WPC’s Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook (updated 1601 UTC, valid 16Z Friday–12Z Saturday) keeps Slight Risk language over far southern Arizona and northern Minnesota. The 16Z update expanded a Marginal Risk eastward across more of the Florida Panhandle for 1–2+ inch local rates. Mid-South, Tennessee Valley, central Gulf Coast, and Southern Appalachians stay in the more widespread thunderstorm/flash-flood conversation at Marginal intensity.

    Hotspot 1 — Upper Midwest Slight Risk (northeast SD into western and northern MN)

    This is still the primary organized severe corridor. A mid-level shortwave and cold front support a narrow corridor of 60s F dewpoints, moderate destabilization, and 35–45 kt of deep-layer shear. Initial supercells favor large hail, isolated 2+ inches possible. Mode should trend toward clusters and bowing segments this evening as the low-level jet strengthens, shifting the main hazard toward damaging wind. A couple of tornadoes remain in the official language if any cells stay semi-discrete into early evening. The wind threat is expected to wane with eastward extent into western Wisconsin late tonight as the instability corridor stays narrow.

    Cities and counties to watch: Watertown and Aberdeen vicinity in South Dakota; Willmar, St. Cloud, Fergus Falls, Brainerd, Hibbing, Duluth, and the Minnesota Arrowhead. Restoration read: hail first, then wind and trees after dark. Stage roof tarps, generators, and tree crews on the Minnesota side of the Slight Risk before evening clustering. Photograph only in remaining daylight if it is safe.

    Hotspot 2 — Southern Virginia and northern North Carolina (MD 2281)

    Mesoscale Discussion 2281 (valid 1937–2200 UTC) covers parts of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. A stationary boundary from far northeastern North Carolina into south-central Virginia is the focus. Moderate surface-based buoyancy and steepening low-level lapse rates support loosely organized clusters capable of locally damaging gusts of 55–70 mph and isolated/marginally severe hail up to about 1.25 inches. Watch probability is 20 percent — watch unlikely.

    Offices in the attention line: AKQ, MHX, LWX, RAH, RNK. Restoration read: treat this as scattered wind and tree work, not a regional line. One strong cluster can still drop a tree on a service drop or peel a section of roof. Do not staff it like Watch 665 from Wednesday.

    Hotspot 3 — WPC flood pockets: northern Minnesota and far southern Arizona

    The same shortwave that supports the Upper Midwest Slight Risk also carries a WPC Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over northern Minnesota. Official discussion cites precipitable water in the upper climatological percentile, possible training near the warm front, 1–2 inches (locally up to 3 inches), and rates approaching 1.5 inches per hour Friday afternoon and evening.

    Far southern Arizona, especially the Santa Cruz County corridor, remains the other Slight Risk flood pocket on monsoon moisture with precipitable water above 1.5 inches. HREF guidance earlier today showed moderate-to-high chances of 3-hour QPF exceeding flash-flood guidance there. The Florida Panhandle was added to the broader Marginal flood language on the 16Z update for coastal 1–2+ inch rates.

    Restoration read: northern Minnesota can be a dual ticket — hail/wind plus interior water if cores train. Southern Arizona is a flash-flood and poor-drainage desk. Florida Panhandle is localized urban flooding, not the national headline.

    Just hit

    Thursday evening into early Friday remains the live claim pile. Official September 10 LSRs include 2.25-inch hail near Lake Tanglewood and 2.00-inch hail at Timbercreek Canyon in Randall County, Texas; 1.75-inch and 1.25-inch stones around Lake Tanglewood and Pantex; an 87 mph thunderstorm gust 1 SE of Colby, Thomas County, Kansas; 67 mph near Pantex; 65 mph at Plainview, Hale County, Texas, with snapped power poles, an overturned construction trailer, damaged vehicles, and fences down; plus additional 60–62 mph gusts on the Texas South Plains. Residual high-water work from overnight Flash Flood Warnings in north-central West Virginia and southeastern Ohio is still on yesterday morning’s books.

    No Atlantic tropical cyclone is present. NHC’s 200 PM EDT Friday Tropical Weather Outlook states tropical cyclone formation is not expected in the Atlantic, Caribbean, or Gulf of America during the next 7 days. Tropical Storm Norbert, 65 mph as of the late-morning Eastern Pacific package, is moving west well offshore and is not a U.S. land threat.

    Pulse table

    RegionMain threatsSPC / NWS / WPC levelStatus this afternoon
    NE SD / western & northern MNLarge hail (2+” possible), damaging wind, couple tornadoesSPC SlightLate afternoon–tonight
    Southern VA / northern NCLocally damaging gusts 55–70 mph, isolated hailMD 2281, watch unlikelyRemainder of afternoon
    Northern MN / far southern AZFlash-flood rates, training possible in MNWPC SlightAfternoon–evening
    TX Panhandle / Colby KSHail to 2.25″, 60–87 mph gusts, poles/vehiclesSept 10 LSRsJust-hit / recovery
    Central Plains / central KS overnightConditional hail/windSPC Marginal (expanded 20Z)Evening–overnight if storms fire
    Mid-South / TN Valley / CarolinasPulse damaging gusts, heavy rainSPC MarginalScattered
    Atlantic / Gulf vs. U.S. mainlandNo landfalling tropical cycloneNHC: no TC next 7 daysQuiet

    What this means for restoration teams

    The Texas Panhandle and Colby, Kansas, hits are already tickets: hail roofs and vehicles in Randall and Carson counties, wind-driven pole and debris work around Plainview and Colby. Today’s new work, if it verifies, is the Upper Midwest Slight Risk after peak heating — hail swaths first, then tree-and-wire clusters. Northern Minnesota can add interior water on the same shift. Virginia–North Carolina is a local wind desk, not a watch-scale deployment.

    Stage Minnesota tarps and tree crews before dark. Property owners should photograph damage in daylight if it is safe, call the carrier, and start extraction the same night if water is inside. Do not send the same crew to both the Minnesota Slight Risk and last night’s Texas recovery without checking which county actually has a warning now.

    What this is not

    This is not a regional derecho and not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. There is no live tornado or severe thunderstorm watch as of this afternoon package. The work tonight, if it comes, will be scattered: a hail swath through a Minnesota or South Dakota county, a wind-downed tree in southern Virginia, a flooded wash in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, or leftover pole work in Hale County, Texas. That is the local-storm pattern this desk should staff.

    Looking ahead

    Saturday’s Day 2 Convective Outlook (1730 UTC, forecaster Jewell) drops to Marginal over parts of the Central Plains and from Ohio and West Virginia into western Pennsylvania. Widely scattered strong-to-severe storms are possible Saturday afternoon and evening over parts of the Central Plains, with isolated activity also possible in the Upper Ohio Valley. Critical fire-weather conditions remain in today’s fire outlook. Watch the next Storm Tracker update rather than assuming the Upper Midwest Slight Risk is the last line of the week.

    Sources and how to verify

    Primary sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Convective Outlook issued 2000 UTC Friday, September 11, 2026; SPC Mesoscale Discussion 2281 issued 1937 UTC; SPC current watches page (no watches valid); SPC Local Storm Reports for 11 September (none in the new 12Z window as of this writing) and 10 September (Texas Panhandle and Colby, Kansas); Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook updated 1601 UTC; National Hurricane Center Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook 200 PM EDT Friday; Eastern Pacific package on Tropical Storm Norbert. Morning desk on the same calendar day: Friday morning Storm Updates.

    Check weather.gov for the county warning, spc.noaa.gov for the outlook, watches, MDs, and LSRs, and WPC excessive rainfall for the flood overlay. NWS warning text feed: national WWA text.

    Informational only — not an official weather warning. Follow local authorities and the National Weather Service. Turn around, don’t drown.

  • Storm Updates: Carolinas Slight Risk, Detroit Tornado Aftermath, Labor Day Weekend Outages — Saturday, September 5, 2026

    Storm Updates: Carolinas Slight Risk, Detroit Tornado Aftermath, Labor Day Weekend Outages — Saturday, September 5, 2026

    The Storm Prediction Center has a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening across parts of the Carolinas into southeastern Virginia. Damaging wind is the primary hazard. Isolated hail is possible. Behind that corridor, restoration crews are still working the multi-day Midwest and Mid-Atlantic wind event that produced Detroit’s first confirmed city tornado since 1997 and left tens of thousands without power heading into Labor Day weekend.

    This is a live snapshot for Saturday, September 5, 2026, built from NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center products, National Weather Service watches and warnings, and public outage reports. Conditions change fast — always verify with the National Weather Service for your county or ZIP.

    Current hotspots

    Carolinas into southeastern Virginia — Slight Risk (damaging wind primary)

    SPC’s 2000 UTC Day 1 outlook holds a Slight Risk from parts of the Carolinas into southeastern Virginia. Severe Thunderstorm Watches #656 and #657 have been in effect into the evening for large parts of central and eastern North Carolina and portions of South Carolina. Warnings have already gone out on individual cells in the Charlotte region, the Triangle, Forsyth and Nash counties, and nearby South Carolina counties.

    Main threats: scattered damaging gusts (60 mph tagged on several warnings; locally higher possible) and isolated hail near 1 to 1.5 inches. Clusters are spreading east-southeast toward the coast this evening. Isolated redevelopment behind the main band cannot be ruled out.

    Cities and metros in the risk area: Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Norfolk / Virginia Beach / Chesapeake, and upstate South Carolina communities under Watch 656.

    Southeast Michigan — just hit (tornado + wind recovery)

    Multiple rounds of severe weather hit Southeast Michigan on September 2–3. NWS Detroit confirmed an EF-0 in Lincoln Park and an EF-2 on the east side of Detroit — the first confirmed tornado in the city since July 2, 1997. A brief EF-0 also occurred in Marysville (St. Clair County) on the 2nd. Widespread straight-line wind damage, downed trees and lines, and heavy rain followed.

    Peak outages in the metro ran into the hundreds of thousands earlier in the week. As of Saturday afternoon, tens of thousands remain without power in Michigan (DTE still reporting a large remaining outage total). Restoration of service is underway through the weekend.

    Ohio Valley to Mid-Atlantic — residual wind and flood damage

    The same multi-day pattern produced a long damage swath from Michigan through Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and into the Mid-Atlantic. Reports included 80+ mph winds (gusts near 99 mph were cited in the Gary, Indiana area), tornadoes, flash flooding, and tree-and-wire losses. Outage totals at the peak of the event exceeded 500,000 customers across the corridor. Saturday still shows elevated outages in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina on top of the new Carolina convection.

    Recent 24-hour damage reports include trees on homes and lines in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio counties — the tail of the same system now feeding the Carolina risk.

    Southwest — flash flood threat into Sunday

    Monsoon moisture continues to support a flash-flood threat across parts of Arizona and Utah, including terrain around Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon. Those parks already saw significant flash flooding in recent days. Sunday remains the day to watch for park visitors and desert-wash travel. This is not a classic wind/hail CAT pulse; it is short-duration runoff in burns scars, slot canyons, and dry washes.

    Tropics

    No Atlantic hurricane is currently threatening the U.S. mainland. The 2026 Atlantic season remains below normal through early September, with no landfalling tropical cyclone driving this weekend’s restoration load. Pacific moisture (including remnants associated with eastern Pacific systems) is a contributor to the Southwest rain threat, not a Gulf or East Coast landfall.

    What this means for restoration operators

    • Carolinas / SE Virginia today: Stage for wind, tree, and envelope failures plus isolated hail. Commercial roofs, storefront glazing, and wet interiors behind failed soffits are the first walk after dark.
    • Detroit / SE Michigan: Tornado and straight-line wind claims are already open. Photo roofs, HVAC, and contents before the next rain. Power-off buildings delay drying — treat standing interior water as a clock, not a wait-for-power problem.
    • Ohio–PA–VA swath: Tree/wire/water day. Wind-driven rain through failed envelope. Treat overland flash-flood water as Category 3 until you prove otherwise.
    • Southwest parks and desert metros Sunday: Rapid-onset wash and canyon flooding, not a wide hail swath. Board-up and water extraction on structures in low washes; do not send crews into active slot canyons.

    Sunday look

    The Slight Risk shifts south into parts of Georgia and South Carolina (Savannah, Columbia, Charleston, Augusta in the broader envelope). Flash flooding remains possible in the Southwest. Cooler air follows the front into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic behind this weekend’s storms.

    Sources

    This is a public-data summary for restoration professionals’ situational awareness only. It is not an official forecast. Always verify with the National Weather Service, local NWS offices, and official watches/warnings. Preliminary storm reports and outage totals can change. Do not make operational decisions solely on this brief.

    Related on Tygart Media: Sept 2 storm updates · Aug 29 storm alerts. Full Daily Storm Pulse archive lives on Restoration Intel — Storm Damage.