A band of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and produced scattered thunderstorm wind damage and isolated urban flooding from heavy rainfall of 1 to 2 inches.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS RAH wrote it up.
A band of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and produced scattered thunderstorm wind damage and isolated urban flooding from heavy rainfall of 1 to 2 inches.
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Sep 8, 1:46 PM EST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 246 PM EDT SAT SEP 8 2012 .SYNOPSIS... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MUCH COOLER AND DRIER CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT SUNDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION. && .NEAR TERM /LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 250 PM SATURDAY... HEATING OF MOIST AIR MASS HAS RESULTED IN MODERATE INSTABILITY WITH SBCAPE VALUES IN THE 3000-3500 J/KG RANGE AND MLCAPE 100-1500 J/KG. BULK SHEAR REMAINS WEAK...MAINLY LESS THAN 20 KTS...EXCEPT OVER THE FAR NW-NORTHERN SECTIONS WHERE 25KTS OF SHEAR OBSERVED. APPROACH OF A MID LEVEL TROUGH AND ATTENDANT SURFACE FRONT HAS HELPED TO SPARK A BROKEN LINE OF CONVECTION IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WESTERN NC. AS THESE STORMS ENTER THE WESTERN PIEDMONT WHERE THE MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS RESIDES...EXPECT TO SEE STORMS INCREASE IN INTENSITY...WITH SCATTERED SEVERE STORMS PROBABLE. AXIS OF DOWNDRAFT CAPE 1000-1200 J/KG EXTENDS N-S ACROSS CENTRAL NC. SINCE SHEAR IS MARGINAL TO WEAK...EXPECT MAIN SEVERE WEATHER HAZARD TO BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LESS SO TORNADO. ANY STORMS WITH SUSTAINED UPDRAFTS AND EXHIBIT SOME ROTATION MAY ALSO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL (QUARTERS TO PING PONG BALL SIZE). TIMING STILL LOOKS ON TRACK WITH BULK OF CONVECTION OCCURRING IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT THROUGH 7-8 PM...AND ACROSS THE EASTERN PIEDMONT-SANDHILLS AND COASTAL PLAIN 4 PM -10 PM. SURFACE COLD FRONT PROJECTED TO ENTER THE WESTERN COUNTIES BETWEEN 8 PM AND 11 PM...AND EXIT THE COASTAL PLAIN AFTER 2 AM. RH CROSS SECTIONS SUGGEST CLOUDS STICK AROUND FOR A GOOD PART OF THE NIGHT...WITH CLEARING SKIES PROBABLE IN THE NW PIEDMONT PRIOR TO DAYBREAK. ALSO...LOW LEVEL WIND FIELD MAINLY NW THROUGH 12Z. THIS TYPE OF FLOW USUALLY OFFSETS INITIAL COLD AIR SURGE. WITH CLOUDS STICKING AROUND LONGER THAN EARLIER THINKING AND LOW LEVEL CAA LIKELY NOT COMMENCING UNTIL CLOSER TO DAYBREAK...HAVE RAISED MIN TEMPS UP A COUPLE OF DEGREES FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST. MIN TEMPS LOWER-MID 60S NW TO AROUND 70 SE. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 246 PM SUNDAY... INITIAL MID LEVEL TROUGH AND SURFACE FRONT WILL EXIT THE REGION EARLY SUNDAY. NW FLOW AND SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF THE TROUGH WILL LEAD TO A DECREASE IN CLOUDINESS DURING THE MORNING HOURS. EXPECT MOST LOCALES TO HAVE SUNNY SKIES BY EARLY AFTERNOON. LOW LEVEL FLOW BECOMES MORE NLY...ADVECTING COOLER AIR MASS INTO THE REGION. EXPECT TEMPS TO EXPERIENCE A SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL DIURNAL TEMP RANGE DUE TO THIS COLD AIR ADVECTION. AFTERNOON TEMPS IN THE 70S TO NEAR 80 NORTH TO THE LOWER 80S SOUTH APPEAR ON TARGET AT THIS TIME. A SECONDARY MID LEVEL TROUGH AND ATTENDANT SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING. THIS FEATURE MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A THIN BAND OF MID LEVEL CLOUDS. NLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT COOLER AIR INTO THE REGION AS THE 805MB THERMAL TROUGH IS PROJECTED TO BUILD DOWN INTO OUR REGION SUNDAY NIGHT. MIN TEMPS IN THE MID 50S NORTH TO UPPER 50S/NEAR 60 SOUTH. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AS OF 110 PM SATURDAY... FOR THE PERIOD MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...THE TROUGH AXIS ALOFT... WITH THE JET AXIS...MOVES EAST MONDAY...AND DESPITE A MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE FORECAST TO MOVE INTO CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA MONDAY NIGHT...THE OVERALL AIR MASS IS DRY. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ARE FORECAST TO FALL TO AROUND 0.75 INCH THROUGHOUT CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA BY EARLY MONDAY...REMAINING THERE THROUGH TUESDAY. THE GFS IS DRIER AROUND 850MB THAN THE NAM...WHICH FORECASTS SOME LINGERING 850MB THETA-E IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT MONDAY AND ACROSS AREAS SOUTH OF U.S. 64 TUESDAY...AND IF THE NAM VERIFIES...THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR SCATTERED TO POSSIBLY BRIEFLY BROKEN HIGH-BASED CUMULUS IN THOSE AREAS DURING THE VERY LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. THE SURFACE GRADIENT IS MODEST ESPECIALLY ACROSS AREAS EAST OF U.S. 1 MONDAY MORNING...AND BASED ON THE AVAILABLE WIND ABOVE THE INVERSION MONDAY MORNING ON BUFR SOUNDINGS...THERE SHOULD BE A FEW WIND GUSTS IN THE MID TO UPPER TEENS KNOTS FROM MID-MORNING INTO EARLY AFTERNOON. THE SAME BASIC PATTERN SHOULD EXIST TUESDAY MORNING...BUT WITH THE SPEEDS TWO OR THREE KNOTS LESS AS THE MORNING GRADIENT IS NOT SO TIGHT AND 925MB WINDS DECREASE SLIGHTLY AT THAT TIME COMPARED TO EARLY MONDAY. 1000-850MB THICKNESSES SUGGEST HIGHS A SHADE UNDER MOS GUIDANCE FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY...AND THE OVERALL TREND OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MODEL RUNS HAS BEEN COOLER. ONLY WENT ABOUT A DEGREE OR SO COOLER...THOUGH...DUE TO EXPECTED SUN EVEN IF SOME CU DEVELOPS. OVERNIGHT LOWS MONDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE MOSTLY IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S...STAYING ABOVE THE VERY COOL MET MOS MIN AT KRWI FOR NOW DUE TO THE GRADIENT MONDAY NIGHT. AREAS TOWARD KLHZ AND KHNZ...THOUGH...COULD SEE LOWS CLOSER TO 50. FOR THE PERIOD TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...LONG-TERM GUIDANCE CONTINUES GRADUALLY BUILDING HEIGHTS ALOFT OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA DURING THE MIDDLE AND THE END THE OF WEEK...EVENTUALLY SLIDING THE RIDGE AXIS ALOFT EAST BY SATURDAY. SURFACE RIDGING WILL PERSIST OVER THE GULF COAST FOR MUCH OF THIS PERIOD...AND A DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP CHANCES FOR ANY RAIN MINIMAL INTO FRIDAY. AS THE RIDGE AXIS MOVES EAST...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT SHOULD INCREASE OVERALL MOISTURE SOME...BUT DEGREE OF RETURN OF MUCH HIGHER SURFACE DEW POINTS MAY BE LIMITED BY CONTINUED SURFACE RIDGING ALONG THE GULF COAST. THE GFS FORECASTS MORE OF A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA SATURDAY WHICH MAY END UP INITIALLY BEING LARGELY DRY...WHILE THE ECMWF FORECASTS MORE OF AN INVERTED SURFACE TROUGH WITH AN ATLANTIC FETCH...THE RESULT BEING THE POTENTIAL FOR A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM MAINLY TOWARD THE COASTAL PLAIN. FOR NOW...WILL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY...SHOWING AN INCREASE IN CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TO JUST BELOW SLIGHT CHANCE BY SATURDAY. CAN ENVISION SUBSEQUENT FORECASTS INTRODUCING SMALL CHANCES FOR A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM FOR SATURDAY DEPENDING ON GUIDANCE EVOLUTION WITH THE AVAILABLE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE...BUT AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS AT LEAST SLIGHT CHANCES FOR A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM WILL OCCUR JUST AFTER THIS LONG-TERM PERIOD IN A PERSISTENT SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...WITH AT LEAST WEAK MID-LEVEL VORTICITY ADVECTING THROUGH AS OVERALL MOISTURE GRADUALLY INCREASES. WILL NOTE THAT THE GFS MOS ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE FOR RAIN CHANCES IS VIRTUALLY ALL BELOW CLIMATOLOGY THROUGH FRIDAY...RISING ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY BY SATURDAY. THIS TREND IS IDENTICAL TO THE GUIDANCE ON FRIDAY...WHEN ALL MEMBERS WERE BELOW CLIMATOLOGY EXCEPT ON FRIDAY... WHICH WAS THEN THE LAST DAY. HIGHS AND LOWS SLOWLY RISE BACK ABOVE NORMAL BY THE END OF THE WEEK. THE COOLEST NIGHT SHOULD BE TUESDAY NIGHT...WITH THE CENTER OF HIGH PRESSURE BASICALLY DIRECTLY OVERHEAD IN COMBINATION WITH THE COOLEST 1000-500MB THICKNESSES. HAVE PUSHED LOWS TO AROUND 50 IN MANY AREAS NORTHEAST OF THE TRIANGLE THAT NIGHT...AND FOR A COUPLE OF TYPICALLY COOLER LOCATIONS...THAT MAY END UP BEING A DEGREE OR TWO TOO WARM. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 1158 AM SATURDAY... MORNING STRATUS AND FOG HAS LIFTED INTO A SCATTERED-BROKEN CUMULUS FIELD WITH BASES ON THE LOW END OF VFR CRITERIA. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL NC FROM MID AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO MOST NUMEROUS IN THE WEST INCLUDING THE TRIAD TERMINALS BETWEEN 2 PM AND 8 PM...AND IN THE EAST BETWEEN 4 PM AND 10 PM. IN VICINITY OF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS EXPECT MVFR CONDITIONS WITH BRIEF INSTANCES OF IFR VISIBILITY NEAR THE HEAVIER SHOWERS. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS 30-40KTS. THE COLD FRONT WILL TRAVERSE CENTRAL NC LATE TONIGHT...EXITING THE REGION WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT. EXPECT N-NE FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT WITH WIND SPEEDS LESS THAN 10KTS. THERE MAY BE A PERIOD LATE TONIGHT OF MVFR CEILINGS BEHIND THE FRONT WITH BASES 1000-2000FT. THESE CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEPART AROUND DAYBREAK WITH ALL TERMINAL SITES EXPERIENCING VFR CONDITIONS BY MID MORNING SUNDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO OUR REGION FROM THE NORTHWEST SUNDAY AND MONDAY THEN LINGER OVERHEAD THROUGH THE BULK OF NEXT WEEK. THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL CAUSE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF VFR CONDITIONS. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...RTE NEAR TERM...WSS SHORT TERM...WSS LONG TERM...DJF AVIATION...WSS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 151 PM EDT SAT SEP 8 2012 NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-090930- PERSON-GRANVILLE-VANCE-WARREN-HALIFAX-FORSYTH-GUILFORD-ALAMANCE- ORANGE-DURHAM-FRANKLIN-NASH-EDGECOMBE-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH-CHATHAM-WAKE- JOHNSTON-WILSON-STANLY-MONTGOMERY-MOORE-LEE-HARNETT-WAYNE-ANSON- RICHMOND-SCOTLAND-HOKE-CUMBERLAND-SAMPSON- 151 PM EDT SAT SEP 8 2012 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 638 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 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. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON AND CROSS CENTRAL NC THIS EVENING. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SOME STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH A PRIMARY THREAT OF DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...MAINLY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 10 PM. A LESSER THREAT OF LARGE HAIL OR AN ISOLATED TORNADO WILL ALSO EXIST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BETWEEN 2 PM AND 8 PM FOR THE TRIAD REGION...AND BETWEEN 4 PM AND 10 PM FOR THE TRIANGLE AND FAYETTEVILLE AREAS. SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT SEVERE WEATHER AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 125 PM EDT SAT SEP 8 2012 NCZ021-022-038-039-081930- FORSYTH-GUILFORD-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WINSTON-SALEM...GREENSBORO... HIGH POINT...LEXINGTON...ASHEBORO 125 PM EDT SAT SEP 8 2012 ...THREAT FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING ACROSS THE TRIAD... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. AS THESE STORMS MOVE EAST NORTHEAST...THEY WILL ENCOUNTER A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS. THIS WILL CAUSE A FEW OF THE STORMS TO BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE AS THEY APPROACH THE TRIAD REGION. THE THREAT FOR STRONG STORMS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE TRIAD REGION BETWEEN 2 AND 4 PM. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR PLANS OR ACTIVITIES NEED TO BE ALERT FOR CHANGING SKY OR WEATHER CONDITIONS. AT THE FIRST SIGN OF IMPENDING BAD WEATHER SUCH AS DARKENING SKIES OR DISTANT RUMBLE OF THUNDER....HEAD FOR A SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:49 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and power-lines were blown down along the wind swath.
Several trees were blown down along a wind swath, including down trees on NC Highway 68 near Haw River Road, Battleground Avenue, Air Harbor Road, Plainfield Road, and NC Highway 150 near Doggett Road. One tree fell onto a home in Browns Summit and trapped an elderly woman in her home. Her family reported she was uninjured.
A couple of trees and power-lines were blown down along Duke Street, Broad Street and near Avondale and Interstate 85.
A couple of trees were blown down with some trees down on power-lines.
Several roads in the area were flooded, including Avent Ferry Road at Trailwood Road, Hillsborough Street near Chapel Hill Road, and Atlantic Avenue at Hodges Street.
Water across the roadway at Atlantic Avenue and Hodges Street.
One tree was blown down on Castleberry Road near NC Highway 42. Another tree was reported down on some power-lines near Archer Lodge.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 2012
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 412713, 412714, 412715, 412716, 412709, 412711, 412717.