Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Jul 28, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT for Alamance County, Orange County, North Carolina. It was in force for 44 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 28, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT (23:01 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 28, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 0.75 in
Counties Alamance County, NC, Orange County, NC
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 1:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 8 hr |
| Jul 28, 6:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 64 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 321 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -111 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1087 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 56 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted.
132
WFUS52 KRAH 282301
TORRAH
NCC001-135-282345-
/O.NEW.KRAH.TO.W.0005.260728T2301Z-260728T2345Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
701 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026
The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Central Alamance County in central North Carolina...
Southern Orange County in central North Carolina...
* Until 745 PM EDT.
* At 701 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located over Burlington, moving southeast at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree
damage is likely.
* This dangerous storm will be near...
Burlington, Graham, and Mebane around 705 PM EDT.
Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include
Efland, Alamance, Sutphin, Haw River, and Cane Creek Reservoir.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 85 between Mile Markers 163 and 164.
Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 140 and 162, and between Mile
Markers 259 and 270.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3599 7899 3594 7900 3586 7911 3588 7925
3586 7925 3585 7924 3584 7924 3584 7936
3607 7953 3620 7930
TIME...MOT...LOC 2301Z 314DEG 26KT 3613 7945
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
LH2 follow-up statements
736
WWUS52 KRAH 282327
SVSRAH
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
727 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026
NCC001-135-282345-
/O.CON.KRAH.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-260728T2345Z/
Alamance NC-Orange NC-
727 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM EDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN ALAMANCE AND SOUTHWESTERN ORANGE COUNTIES...
At 727 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located over Graham, moving southeast at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
likely.
This dangerous storm will be near...
Mebane around 730 PM EDT.
Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include Cane
Creek Reservoir, Saxapahaw, and Swepsonville.
This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 150 and 155.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
&&
LAT...LON 3605 7944 3609 7927 3599 7907 3589 7931
TIME...MOT...LOC 2327Z 307DEG 17KT 3606 7935
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN
$$
LH140 WWUS52 KRAH 282339 SVSRAH Severe Weather Statement National Weather Service Raleigh NC 739 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 NCC001-135-282348- /O.EXP.KRAH.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-260728T2345Z/ Alamance NC-Orange NC- 739 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 ...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN ALAMANCE AND SOUTHWESTERN ORANGE COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 745 PM EDT... The tornado threat has diminished and the Tornado Warning has been cancelled. However, large hail and damaging winds remain likely and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in effect for the area. To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service Raleigh. && LAT...LON 3605 7944 3609 7927 3599 7907 3589 7931 TIME...MOT...LOC 2338Z 314DEG 26KT 3601 7929 $$ LH
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 28, 3:26 PM EDT, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- As of 325 PM Tuesday... 1) There remains a (conditional) Slight risk, Level 2 of 5, for severe thunderstorms throughout cntl NC through this evening, though the greatest threat/highest confidence area will be over the Piedmont at least for the next several hours. 2) Dry through Saturday, then unsettled into next week.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 3:26 PM EDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 326 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... * The relatively highest severe weather threat, at least through early this evening, has shifted to the wrn Piedmont, where Severe Thunderstorm Watch #526 is in effect through 8 PM EDT. && .KEY MESSAGES... As of 325 PM Tuesday... 1) There remains a (conditional) Slight risk, Level 2 of 5, for severe thunderstorms throughout cntl NC through this evening, though the greatest threat/highest confidence area will be over the Piedmont at least for the next several hours. 2) Dry through Saturday, then unsettled into next week. && .DISCUSSION... As of 325 PM Tuesday... KEY MESSAGE 1... There remains a (conditional) Slight risk, Level 2 of 5, for severe thunderstorms throughout cntl NC through this evening, though the greatest threat/highest confidence area will be over the Piedmont at least for the next several hours. The models indicate a closed mid/upr-level low will develop across the lwr Great Lakes and nrn Middle Atlantic through early Wed, within a shortwave trough now progressing across that region per GOES-E water vapor satellite data. In cyclonic, nwly flow through the associated trough base, at least a couple of lower amplitude perturbations, one of which may be convectively-amplified within the band of frontal convection now over the lwr OH Valley, are forecast to dig across and offshore the Middle Atlantic. An unseasonably strong belt of wnwly/nwly 700-500 mb winds of up to 30-40 kts are forecast and already observed in VWP data over the srn Middle Atlantic. Meanwhile, 850 mb-centered moisture transport now directed into the cntl Appalachians will develop ewd and across the srn Middle Atlantic through this evening. At the surface and in the low-levels, an MLCAPE minimum over cntl NC and Southside VA per SPC mesoanalysis data has resulted from mid/high-level debris cloudiness and remnant stratiform rain and related limited diurnal destabilization, and also from the presence of somewhat shallower low-level moisture east of the Appalachians, indicated by 12Z-observed mean mixing ratios around 13.5 g/kg at RNK/GSO versus 16-17 g/kg upstream at BNA/ILN. The swrn periphery of lingering stability and inhibition over cntl NC has been marked by an outflow and differential heating boundary draped at 19Z from near TNB to VUJ. This boundary may retreat slightly newd and into the nw NC Piedmont this afternoon, while a synoptic cold front across WV/KY will continue to progress swd/sewd across the srn Middle Atlantic and srn Appalachians. Deep convection will probably continue to develop this afternoon, with scattered coverage between the outflow boundary and the synoptic front and a broken line along the latter, then propagate generally sewd and into the NC Piedmont (particularly wrn portions) through this evening. Shear profiles will be supportive of supercells, particularly where coverage remains scattered and cells discrete, versus a tendency for bowing segments within the broken line of frontal convection. It remains unclear to what degree any additional development may occur over the ne Piedmont and Coastal Plain this evening, deeper in the aforementioned stability there and where the severe threat is even more conditional and uncertain. However, a lack of cumulus there and presence of stable/billow clouds nearby over much of cntl and nrn VA suggest any such threat will be delayed relative to the nearer storms approaching Watch #526; and no local extensions to the current Watch or issuance of a new one altogether for locations to its east are imminently anticipated. Key Message 2: Dry through Saturday, then unsettled into next week. Late Week through Weekend: High pressure shifts from the Upper Mississippi Valley on Wednesday, settling over the Mid-Atlantic by Friday. Expect near to below-average temperatures and fair weather through Saturday afternoon. The next round of precipitation arrives late Saturday evening into Sunday morning as tropical moisture interacts with a developing stationary boundary. Into Next Week: Unsettled weather persists through at least mid-week as the stationary boundary lingers overhead. Plentiful Gulf and Atlantic moisture will tap into this lingering boundary, bringing multiple rounds of showers and isolated thunderstorms across the region over several days. && .AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... As of 155 PM Tuesday... Low VFR to MVFR visibility restrictions in a band of now mostly stratiform rain will be possible for the next couple of hours at RWI and Piedmont sites. Deep convection will meanwhile continue to develop --with scattered coverage along an outflow and differential heating boundary draped at 18Z from near TNB to EXX and in a broken line along a synoptic cold front over the lwr OH Valley-- then propagate generally sewd and across the NC Piedmont between 19Z-02Z and, with lower probability of occurrence and if it holds together amid lesser instability and debris cloudiness from the aforementioned stratiform rain, into the RWI and FAY between 23-04Z. In the wake of the convection, clearing aloft will result atop residually moist low-levels and soils tonight, such that areas of mist/fog and low stratus may develop especially at ern sites. VFR conditions and a surface nwly wind, with gustiness into the teens kts especially over the Piedmont, will follow for Wed. Outlook: VFR conditions are generally expected until probably Sunday, when lift ahead of a mid/upr-level low approaching from the OH Valley will favor above average chances of showers/storms and flight restrictions. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && DISCUSSION...MWS/CA AVIATION...MWS
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 28, 1:15 PM EDT, 5 hours 46 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Raleigh NC 115 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 NCZ007-021>023-038-039-073-291715- Person-Forsyth-Guilford-Alamance-Davidson-Randolph-Stanly- 115 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 526 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. 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. NCZ008>011-024>028-040>043-074>078-083>086-088-089-291715- Granville-Vance-Warren-Halifax-Orange-Durham-Franklin-Nash-Edgecombe- Chatham-Wake-Johnston-Wilson-Montgomery-Moore-Lee-Harnett-Wayne- Anson-Richmond-Scotland-Hoke-Cumberland-Sampson- 115 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. There is a slight (level 2 of 5) risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. The greatest threat will be damaging wind gusts, though large hail and an isolated tornado will also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. 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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 6:04 PM EDT, 57 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
604 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026
NCZ022-023-282315-
Guilford NC-Alamance NC-
604 PM EDT Tue Jul 28 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHERN ALAMANCE AND
NORTHEASTERN GUILFORD COUNTIES THROUGH 715 PM EDT...
At 604 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Reidsville, moving southeast 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...
Burlington, Graham, Mebane, Elon, McLeansville, Gibsonville, Haw
River, Lake Burlington, Monticello, and Lake Cammack Park & Marina.
This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 137 and 145, between
Mile Markers 149 and 151, and Mile Marker 153 and near Mile Marker
155.
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.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 800 PM EDT for
central North Carolina.
&&
LAT...LON 3625 7942 3608 7926 3607 7926 3606 7959
3625 7977 3624 7953 3625 7953
TIME...MOT...LOC 2204Z 314DEG 18KT 3634 7971
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
1The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 11:09 AM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RAH | Alamance, Orange, Person | 66 min |
| Jul 28, 6:04 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RAH | Alamance | 71 min |
| Jul 28, 6:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance, Guilford | 71 min |
| Jul 28, 6:24 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RAH | Alamance, Guilford | 51 min |
| Jul 28, 7:30 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RAH | Chatham | 60 min |
| Jul 28, 7:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Orange, Wake | 53 min |
| Jul 28, 7:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Alamance, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, Wake | 73 min |
| Jul 28, 7:49 PM EDT | Areal Flood Advisory | RAH | Alamance, Durham, Orange | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.