Flash Flood Warning 25, NWS Raleigh, NC

169 
WGUS72 KRAH 231848
FFSRAH

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
248 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

NCC051-085-093-101-125-163-191-231858-
/O.CAN.KRAH.FF.W.0025.000000T0000Z-260723T1900Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Cumberland NC-Harnett NC-Hoke NC-Johnston NC-Moore NC-Sampson NC-
Wayne NC-
248 PM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR CUMBERLAND, SOUTHERN 
HARNETT, HOKE, SOUTHERN JOHNSTON, EAST CENTRAL MOORE, SAMPSON AND 
WAYNE COUNTIES...

A Flood Advisory will replace this Flash Flood Warning. Please 
continue to heed remaining road closures.

A Flood Watch remains in effect until 900 AM EDT Friday for a 
portion of central North Carolina.

&&

LAT...LON 3529 7921 3540 7864 3544 7816 3541 7783
      3515 7789 3519 7802 3519 7816 3490 7815
      3479 7818 3478 7843 3486 7850 3483 7890
      3490 7894 3495 7903 3483 7919 3484 7932
      3506 7941

$$

CA

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
756 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...

* While heavy, convective rains are ongoing and expected to
  continue, with multi-inch totals still likely, precipitation rates
  may be just low enough to preclude the occurrence of more than
  scattered instances of flash flooding.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
As of 455 AM Thursday...

1) An axis of showers storms will progress slowly ssewd across cntl
NC through early Friday, with an associated risk of excessive rain.

2) The slow moving cold front across the Carolinas will move across
eastern NC and into northern SC resulting in a continued threat of
rain, focused across southern areas where the rain could be locally
heavy.

3)  After another cool and rainy day Saturday, the chance of rain
will decrease and temperatures will return to normal late July
values.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
As of 455 AM Thursday...

KEY MESSAGE 1... An axis of showers storms will progress slowly
ssewd across cntl NC through early Friday, with an associated risk
of excessive rain.

A shortwave trough, evident in GOES-E water vapor satellite data
over the srn border of ON/QC, will lift newd through the St.
Lawrence River vicinity through this evening. Rising heights will
follow the wave and result throughout the lwr Great Lakes, Middle
Atlantic, and Northeast, with related deamplification and weakening
of a longwave ern CONUS trough. Cntl NC will be mostly displaced
from the influence of the shortwave trough but in continued very
moist and broadly cyclonic flow, with the former highlighted by a
top 10 all-time observed PW of 2.32" at GSO last evening. Weakly
veering, uniformly-strong flow of 30-40 kts in the 850-500 mb layer
will continue to be directed into a similarly-aligned low-level
frontal zone over the srn Middle Atlantic.

That low-level frontal zone will tend to consolidate and strengthen,
as a synoptic cold front now progressing steadily through s-cntl VA
nears and probably eventually overtakes later today a nearly
stationary outflow boundary/effective front draped from EDE-FBG-CLT
in e-cntl through s-cntl NC. The merged front will then settle into,
and become quasi-stationary over, the ern Carolinas late tonight-
Fri.

Isentropic lift induced by a 30-35 kt swly low-level jet and WAA
intersecting the fronts, and a low-level frontogenetical
circulation, will favor lift in the aforementioned deeply moist
environment over cntl NC. When combined with only weak nnwly upwind
propagation vectors resulting from the wind profile noted above, and
associated slow ssewd propagation of the axis of ongoing convection,
and a continued conditionally unstable thermodynamic profiles with
generally 1000-1500 J/kg of MUCAPE, the environment will remain
conducive for slow-moving convection with risk of flash flooding.
This risk will be greatest over the Triangle this morning, prior to
the arrival of the synoptic front from the north and following drier
air in the low-levels (eg. surface dewpoints now falling through the
50s-60s throughout nrn and cntl VA). After as much as 4-5" inches of
rain fell over the nw Piedmont overnight, but with rates
insufficient to produce any notable flash flooding, the axis of
convection and risk of flooding appears to have now shifted just
south of the Triad.

While most of cntl NC is not outlooked beyond general thunder in the
latest SWODY1, VWP-observed and SPC/objective mesoanalysis-
corroborated 0-1 km bulk shear of 20-25 kts and 0-1 km SRH of 100-
150 m2/s2 remain favorable for a weak spinup in cells that develop
and track along the effective front - much like the earlier Johnston
Co. cell that exhibited a Vrot of 20-25 kts around 2-4 ft ARL and
necessitated a SVR with TOR possible tag.

It will otherwise remain unseasonably mild and with a chance to set
record low maximum temperatures over the Piedmont, contrasted by 80s
in the warm sector from the srn Piedmont to the Sandhills and cntl
Coastal Plain.

KEY MESSAGE 2... The slow moving cold front across the Carolinas
will move across eastern NC and into northern SC resulting in a
continued threat of rain, focused across southern areas where the
rain could be locally heavy.

Friday's forecast and possible impacts remain are challenging as the
overall trend is for the greatest precipitation and the potential
for heavy or excessive rain focusing to the southeast. Expect one
batch of showers and storms to be exiting central NC off to the east
and southeast on Friday morning followed by a bit of a lull across
much of the area during the day. As another disturbance aloft
approaches, forcing for ascent should increase, and showers and
storms will likely redevelop on Friday night. The rain should be
lighter and less convective across northern areas but in locations
south of U.S. route 64, instability and deep moisture will buckle
north and the precipitation will be more widespread, convective and
potentially heavy. The WPC QPF forecast for Friday and Friday night
ranges less than 0.25 inches in the Triad and near the VA border,
0.25 to 0.5 inches in the Triangle and Rocky Mount areas and 0.5 to
1.0 inches in the Sandhills and southern Coastal Plain. With this in
mind, will keep the current expiration time on the Flood Watch as is
while noting that it may be necessary to extend the watch across
southern and southeastern areas. Friday will be another day with
below average temperatures, as much as 10 to 15 degrees below
average in the north with highs ranging from the mid 70s in the
Triad to the lower 80s in the Sandhills.

Key Message 3... After another cool and rainy day Saturday, the
chance of rain will decrease and temperatures will return to normal
late July values.

The stationary front should remain somewhere along the North
Carolina/South Carolina border on Saturday, keeping a chance for
showers across the entire area, with the highest chances in the
south. As the front continues to weaken, just an isolated
thunderstorm will be possible on Sunday, and Monday appears to be
the first widespread day of dry weather in several days. As low
pressure moves along the US/Canadian border during the beginning of
next week, the accompanying cold front could make it as far south as
the Carolinas, bringing another chance for showers and storms.

Saturday will be yet another cool day, with highs ranging from the
mid 70s to the mid 80s. A return to sunny skies on Sunday, however,
should bring a warming trend with highs returning to the 80s
everywhere, and highs will return to near normal values in the low
to mid 90s Monday through Wednesday.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
As of 755 AM Thursday...

An axis of convection --widespread, moderate to heavy showers and
embedded storms-- will continue to focus along a 925-850 mb front
from just south of INT/GSO to RDU and RWI this morning, then
gradually shift swd and into FAY this afternoon. While flight
restrictions will be maximized in this convection, areas of IFR-MVFR
ceilings are likely to develop in the rain-cooled air north/poleward
of a nearly stationary outflow boundary/lead effective front draped
at 12Z from the nrn Outer Banks swwd to near GSB then wswwd to CLT.
Some lifting of ceilings through MVFR range will probably result at
Piedmont sites, possibly accompanied by briefly gusty nly surface
winds, as a reinforcing synoptic front and following drier air now
moving into nrn NC continue to move swd through the day. Nocturnal
cooling will support a lowering of ceilings into IFR range once
again tonight, accompanied by continued waves of elevated convection
along and north of the aforementioned fronts that will have probably
merged and stalled over the ern Carolinas.

Outlook: Cold air damming to the north and west of the fronts will
favor overnight-morning IFR-MVFR ceilings and possibly some periods
of light rain over cntl NC Fri-Sat. Some continued elevated
convection will also continue at FAY and possibly RWI during that
time, in relatively closer proximity to the stalled front and
instability axis.

&&

.CLIMATE...

Record Low Maximum Temperatures:

July 23: KGSO: 73/2019 KRDU: 76/1921

July 24: KFAY: 81/1985

&&

.RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flood Watch through Thursday evening for NCZ007>011-021>028-
038>041.
Flood Watch from midnight EDT tonight through Friday morning
for NCZ042-043-073>078-083>086-088-089.

&&

DISCUSSION...MWS/Blaes/Green
AVIATION...MWS

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
516 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

NCZ007>011-021>028-038>041-241200-
Person-Granville-Vance-Warren-Halifax-Forsyth-Guilford-Alamance-
Orange-Durham-Franklin-Nash-Edgecombe-Davidson-Randolph-Chatham-Wake-
516 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Flood Watch.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Hazardous weather is not expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.

NCZ042-043-073>078-083>086-088-089-241200-
Johnston-Wilson-Stanly-Montgomery-Moore-Lee-Harnett-Wayne-Anson-
Richmond-Scotland-Hoke-Cumberland-Sampson-
516 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Flood Watch.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Flood Watch.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
928 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

NCZ027-041>043-078-231430-
Nash NC-Johnston NC-Wake NC-Wayne NC-Wilson NC-
928 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHEASTERN WAYNE...
SOUTHWESTERN NASH...SOUTHEASTERN WAKE...WILSON AND JOHNSTON COUNTIES
THROUGH 1030 AM EDT...

At 928 AM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Angier, or 15 miles northeast of Lillington, moving east at 45 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include...
Smithfield, Wilson, Garner, Clayton, Elm City, Fremont, Bailey,
Micro, Selma, and Four Oaks.

This includes the following highways...
 Interstate 95 between Mile Markers 127 and 90.
 Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 305 and 323.
 NC Highway 264 between Mile Markers 27 and 49.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3545 7862 3549 7866 3552 7870 3568 7869
      3587 7787 3551 7782 3542 7782
TIME...MOT...LOC 1328Z 267DEG 40KT 3556 7863

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

1

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
933 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0831 AM     Flash Flood      2 SW Hillsborough       36.05N 79.12W
07/23/2026                   Orange             NC   Dept of Highways

            I-40 westbound closed between exits 259-261
            due to flooding.

&&

np

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
938 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0815 AM     Flash Flood      3 E Apex                35.73N 78.79W
07/23/2026                   Wake               NC   Mesonet

            Stream gauge on Swift Creek at Regency
            Parkway rose above flood stage.

&&

np

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
940 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0910 AM     Flash Flood      2 S Cary                35.75N 78.79W
07/23/2026                   Wake               NC   Mesonet

            Stream gauge on Swift Creek at Queensferry
            Rd rose above flood stage.

&&

np

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
1024 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

NCZ042-077-078-088-089-231530-
Johnston NC-Sampson NC-Harnett NC-Wayne NC-Cumberland NC-
1024 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT WAYNE...NORTHERN SAMPSON...
SOUTHEASTERN HARNETT...NORTHEASTERN CUMBERLAND AND SOUTHERN JOHNSTON
COUNTIES THROUGH 1130 AM EDT...

At 1024 AM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Godwin, or 14 miles southeast of Lillington, moving east at 20 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include...
Goldsboro, Mount Olive, Dunn, Benson, Walnut Creek, Godwin, Four
Oaks, Newton Grove, Wade, and Falcon.

This includes the following highways...
 Interstate 95 between Mile Markers 87 and 58.
 Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 324 and 358.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 3536 7782 3532 7783 3518 7783 3516 7788
      3515 7789 3517 7793 3516 7797 3518 7799
      3519 7802 3518 7807 3519 7816 3509 7817
      3507 7816 3510 7877 3545 7853 3543 7783
      3540 7780 3538 7780
TIME...MOT...LOC 1424Z 271DEG 16KT 3525 7863

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

1

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
1132 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

NCZ078-089-231630-
Sampson NC-Wayne NC-
1132 AM EDT Thu Jul 23 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT SOUTHERN WAYNE AND NORTHEASTERN
SAMPSON COUNTIES THROUGH 1230 PM EDT...

At 1131 AM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 11
miles west of Mount Olive, or 12 miles north of Clinton, moving east
at 15 mph. This storm has weak rotation...a warning may need to be
issued.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include...
Mount Olive, Walnut Creek, Newton Grove, Seven Springs, Hobbton,
Cliffs Of The Neuse State Park, and Brogden.

This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 342 and 359.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Doppler radar has indicated weak rotation with this storm. If the
storm intensifies and rotation strengthens, a warning may need to be
issued.

&&

LAT...LON 3518 7783 3516 7788 3515 7789 3517 7793
      3516 7797 3518 7799 3519 7802 3519 7804
      3518 7807 3519 7816 3509 7817 3508 7816
      3506 7816 3507 7836 3525 7837 3531 7783
TIME...MOT...LOC 1531Z 267DEG 12KT 3517 7828

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

CA