Severe Weather Danger for Southeast

As noticeably cooler air dives into the South today, the danger of damaging thunderstorms has shifted to the eastern Carolinas and neighboring parts of Georgia.

Today is starting with a band of showers and thunderstorms draped across the South. Frequent lightning, gusty winds and blinding downpours are possible with any of these thunderstorms as they shift southeastward into this evening.

However, it is over the eastern Carolinas and far eastern Georgia where the greatest danger of the thunderstorms unleashing damaging winds exists.

Cities under the gun for the damaging thunderstorms include Elizabeth City, N.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; and Savannah, Ga. This zone lies just east of Raleigh, N.C., and Augusta, Ga.

Most of the damaging thunderstorms will wait until this afternoon to erupt. The more sunshine an area in the threat zone sees, the greater the possibility of a violent thunderstorm igniting.

A widespread outbreak of these intense thunderstorms is not expected, but it only takes one severe thunderstorm to endanger lives and property.

The thunderstorms will erupt as a cold front slices into the unseasonable warmth encompassing the Southeast.

The warmth will once again challenge record highs in cities such as Jacksonville and Orlando.

This is the same front that sparked Tuesday's severe weather outbreak over the Midwest and Wednesday's tornadoes in North Carolina and Virginia.

The noticeably cooler air following the front will eventually win out across the South on Friday.

South Florida, including Miami, will be the exception.

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist