This watch closely mirrors the slight risk for severe storms that we're been monitoring all day long.
Temperatures and dew points are all on the rise across the region. These parameters combined with a sharp front will allow for storms to develop and move through the Triangle through 5pm
Happy saturday! Take a drive with the top down or on the Harley! Here's your Weather on the Ones Forecast Discussion:
okay, I mentioned at the end of the discussion a type of cloud that was not a sundog or a rainbow. Here's what it looked like:
This is courtesy of the National Weather Service in Spokane, Washington.
Its called a circumhorizon arc. This definition is courtesy of the NWS Spokane:
" A circumhorizon arc is one of the rarest halos one can witness. First. it requires a very high sun angle of approximately 58° or higher. A sun angle this high can only occur at northern latitudes during a small portion of the year centered around the summer solstice.
But a high sun angle is only part of the recipe. The other ingredient is even more restrictive. This ingredient is a cluster of perfectly aligned (i.e. nearly perpendicular to the sunlight) ice crystals. This alignment allows the light to enter the nearly vertical side of the ice crystal and exit the relatively horizontal bottom of the crystal. The crystals refract the light approximately 46°, resulting in a very pure spectrum of colors and a vivid light display.
For more information about circumhorizon arcs and other atmospheric optical phenomena please direct your favorite search engine to "Atmospheric Optics."
Have a great day!
Pati Darak
Weather on the Ones Meteorologist,
News 14 Carolina
Hail near Chapel Hill along the Orange/Durham County line. Photo submitted by News 14 Carolina viewer Nicole Bales.
Above two photos are from hail that fell in Carborro. Submitted by Jeff.
Pea size hail in Garner. Photo submitted by anonymous News 14 Carolina viewer.
Lightning photo over Smithfield. Submitted by News 14 Carolina viewer Heather Braswell. 
Hail photo taken near Chapel Hill. Submitted by News 14 Carolina viewer Lindsey Pandorf.
Above two photos of storm damage 6 miles south of Kenersville in Forsyth County. Photos submitted by Ken Karns.
Above two photos taken by News 14 Carolina reporter Bob Costner in Clemmons.
Triad storm damage submitted by an anonymous News 14 Carolina viewer. Location is unknown.
ill sent in these pictures of hail:
Nicole Bales of 
This is all part of the storm system that will eventually bring us a chance for rain over the weekend. We do not expect anything like the storms from yesterday and what is expected today. We can expect scattered showers and a few thunderstorms late Saturday night through Sunday morning. Stay tuned to Weather on the Ones for your latest weekend forecast!
The rain over the last month or so has really helped our drought situation across the state. In fact, for the last 90 days we have registered above normal rainfall in the Triangle. Our next chance for rain is expected this weekend.
Stay tuned to News 14 Carolina for Weather on the Ones updates through the day....
As you can see, not everyone saw beneficial rains over the weekend. If you missed out, more rain is in the forecast today and tomorrow. I have more on the rain chances the next couple of days in this morning's video blog update posted below...
We started out with abundant sunshine in NC this weekend, however an approaching cold front will mean an increase in clouds and a chance for hit and miss showers and storms. While we're not expecting severe weather, if thunderstorms do form we could see the possibility of thunderstorms producing small hail and/or gusty winds. The front will cross the state later tonight into Sunday morning, so keep an umbrella handy! There will be a better possibility of showers wilth measureable rain in the NE part of our state Sunday.
An upper level low will approach Sunday, which means a better chance that storms could produce hail. So far the storm prediction center has not placed any risk of severe storms forming. That means if hail forms, it should be less than 3/4" in diameter. We could also see gusty winds if storms form. Otherwise, our weather Sunday will feature variable clouds and widely scattered showers.
Yesterday was our first code orange ozone day in NC, which meant our first ozone action day. According to the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources ; Division of Air Quality, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently revised the ozone air quality standards based on new health information that demonstrates adverse health impacts at lower concentrations of ozone than previously thought. Consequently, the Air Quality Index (AQI) and the air quality forecasts have been adjusted to reflect the revised ozone standard. Air Quality Action Days (Code Orange and Red) are now at least twice as likely to occur in North Carolina than during the past several years. They ask that you please understand that the air quality in North Carolina has not suddenly deteriorated; rather, the air quality forecasts are more protective of public health based on the new health studies and revised national standards.
For more information, please see their website (which includes daily ozone forecasts): http://daq.state.nc.us/Ozone/
Have a great Weekend!
Pati Darak, Weather on the Ones Meteorologist, News 14 Carolina
A warm-up is now underway for the rest of the week. Afternoon temperatures still look to reach the low 80s for Friday.
Our weather video today features photos by our viewers of saturday's severe weather.
A confirmed EF-0 tornado passed through Wayne county yesterday afternoon, and golfball sized hail came from that same storm just about a half hour earlier over Johnston county.
The cold front which passed later Saturday is responsible for some westerly breezes and cooler weather today. We may see some late afternoon clouds and maybe a sprinkle, but a better chance of precipitation will come Monday as an upper level low passes over the east coast.
Monday will start out chilly with temps near 40 and some sunshine, but those clouds will come in by afternoon, and showers are expected into the afternoon and evening.
By the way, you might hear of the possibility of patchy frost to our west this week, which makes one think : when is it okay to put the plants outside? Most veteran Carolinian gardeners have it in their bones, but for those who are either new to the area or just cannot remember, here's a helpful map from the National Weather Service of when our last Hard Freeze (not frost) traditionally occurs for the Spring across NC. If you want to get a better copy, here's the link to the NWS:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/climate/data/nc.avg.last.spring.freeze.gif
As far as the rest of our forecast, Conditions improve by midweek with high pressure and sunshine.
Have a great Sunday!
Pati Darak
News14 Carolina
This weekend's rain chances will come mainly on Saturday as a cold front passes through the state. Ahead of that front, look for a warm up through the rest of the week with highs in the upper 70s to near 80 for Thursday and Friday. That same front will bring cooler temperatures for early next week when morning lows may dip to the 30s!
The recent rain surplus does not mean the drought is totally over. If you go back January 2007, we are still just a little over 8 inches behind. However, for 2008 we are now less than an inch behind in rain. With most of our lakes filling up, the drought news is much better!
Here are some of the drought headlines today from news14.com --
This week's forecast may be a challenge again for the start of the week as another cool air wedge sets up in the wake of a cold front which brought 1-3+" of rain to eastern North Carolina over the past 3 days.
Forecast models have a difficult time computing temperature and precipitation forecasts ( as saw last week!) so we may have updates from day to day on our warmup trend this week.
As it stands, the wedge of cooler air seems to be in place for the start of the work week, but the parent high pressure may shift eastward by wednesday. If this happens, we'll see winds shift from a northerly to southerly which would warm us up quickly! We'll start our week in the 50s and once the wedge erodes expect a quick trip to the 70s.
As far as precipitation, expect rather dry conditions (except for some drizzle and fog today and tonight!) until Friday into Saturday when showers could again bring some welcome rain.
Have a great week!
Pati Darak,
Meteorologist, News 14 Carolina
As of this writing (about 1230 pm Saturday), the Eastern half of NC was designated by the Storm Prediction Center as having a slight risk for strong to severe storms for the remainder of the day and into the nighttime hours.
Late friday and early Saturday we had a round of strong to severe storms which produced a good deal of lightning, a number of wind damage reports, especially south and east of the Triangle, a report of large hail (golf-ball sized) in Moore County and a possible EF-zero tornado in Lenoir county (south and east of Goldsboro). The National Weather Service has based that tornado report on preliminary data. Our storms also deposited a much needed rainfall of 1+ inches, and we may see that and more today!
There is a cold front to our west for the start of the weekend, and as it approaches central NC later today we'll continue to see copious amounts of rainfall and some embedded thunderstorms. There is a possibilty that our early afternoon showers could take away some of the energy necessary to produce strong to severe storms. Be sure to check with your Weather on the Ones Forecast Center for more updates as we proceed through the afternoon and evening.
As for Sunday, the cold front wants to stall slightly at the coast to start the day, so we may see persistent clouds and temperatures in the lower 60s. We may also have a weak cold air wedge event to start the week, but it expected to erode quickly. Temperatures by mid week are expected to recover into the 70s.
Enjoy the rain!
Pati Darak,
Weather On The Ones Meteorologist,
News 14 Carolina
A Warm front will move northward through NC Thursday overnight into Friday. Expect temperatures to be milder for the morning commute and soar into the upper 70s to near 80 for the sandhills.
more in this evening's video blog.
Stay tuned to News 14 Carolina and Weather on the Ones for the latest on your weekend forecast....
Most of us stayed dry yesterday but a few showers and thunderstorms did develop across the area. Here's an update on rainfall since this weekend --
We won't add to those totals today, but more rain is in the forecast Thursday-Saturday. Tomorrow's rains will come in the form of drizzle and light showers as another cold air wedge sets up across central North Carolina. That is similar to our weather set-up this past weekend. That will keep things cool in the Triangle tomorrow with highs only in the low 50s, while the 60s will be possible from Fayetteville to Goldsboro and Wilson.
We'll all warm into the 70s on Friday with showers and storms in the forecast Friday and Saturday. A few storms Saturday could become strong. I have more on forecast through the rest of the week and the weekend in this morning's video blog posted below...
We'll continue to see the rain add up today as scattered showers and thunderstorms develop by this afternoon. An isolated storm or two could become strong this afternoon with gusty winds.
Most of us should see a break in the rain Wednesday, although we will stay mostly cloudy. Another cold air wedge will set up Thursday keeping us cloudy and cool with light showers. Then look for another warm up for Friday with more thunderstorms late Friday and Saturday.
We'll finally see more sunshine by Sunday and the first of next week!
