Severe weather possible on Thursday; Thunderstorms, winds, and isolated tornadoes are main threats

Severe weather is possible for Thursday, which includes thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes, per a Tuesday morning update from the National Weather Service (NWS) Newport / Morehead City office.

Confidence is increasing that potentially significant and severe thunderstorms will occur across eastern North Carolina on Thursday, including Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. On Thursday afternoon and evening, the Outer Banks could see damaging wind gusts, hail in excess of 1 inch in diameter, and the potential for isolated tornadoes. Coastal flooding is not anticipated at this time, per the NWS update.

The public is advised to have multiple ways to receive warnings in case of isolated tornadoes, and can stay informed by signing by for the new OBXAlerts system from Dare County, which provides both emergency and routine alerts for the Outer Banks.

Folks can sign up for OBXAlerts via this link and can select the alerts and notifications they wish to receive. To maintain uninterrupted service, all current users of OBXAlerts must create a new profile by February 28, 2021.

For more information on the local forecast, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for weather information, or the National Weather Service office in Newport / Morehead City’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/.