A surface trough combined with a moist and unstable air mass resulted in an area of showers and storms moving west from the Appalachians into the northwestern Piedmont during the evening. A couple of trees were reported down from the storms in Davidson County.
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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 surface trough combined with a moist and unstable air mass resulted in an area of showers and storms moving west from the Appalachians into the northwestern Piedmont during the evening. A couple of trees were reported down from the storms in Davidson County.
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 Aug 26, 7:12 PM EST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Raleigh NC 812 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023 .SYNOPSIS... A surface trough will hold over central and eastern North Carolina tonight. A weak backdoor cold front will move southward into the Carolinas late tonight and hold nearly stationary over the area into early next week. Tropical low pressure in the southern Gulf of Mexico may affect the Gulf Coast and Southeast during the mid to late week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 812 PM Saturday... We are watching the NW Piedmont for scattered thunderstorms this evening. A couple of short lines of thunderstorms extended from Stokes into Yadkin County, with the storms arriving in western and northern Forsyth. There were only a few CG lightning strikes in the past 15 minutes as the storms were currently in a weakening stage. It appears the storms will likely develop south toward the higher MLCapes in Davidson/Rowan and run out of steam on the eastern flanks as they move into more stable air from Greensboro east. Otherwise, removed the storm chances south as they moved into SC and far SE NC and out of the region. It will be warm and muggy overnight with partly cloudy skies and lows in the upper 60s and 70s. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 206 PM Saturday... Southward progressing surface boundary will stall somewhere across central NC early Sunday morning, with some isolated showers lingering right through daybreak. The front will slowly drift southward through the day, encountering an atmosphere characterized by PW's around 2.0-2.2 inches and MLCAPEs ranging from 1000-1500 J/KG. Meanwhile a weak shortwave trough will make its way across the mountains and into upstate SC by early afternoon, providing sufficient forcing for ascent for shower and storm development across central NC during the afternoon hours. While low level shear is largely lacking with this wave, bulk shear around 25-30kts could support at least some degree of storm organization. SPC (and WPC) have maintained a MRGL risk of severe weather (and excessive rainfall) across the area with the primary hazards of wind, lightning, and small hail all on the table. While most of the area could certainly benefit from some rain at this point, rainfall rates could be great enough to allow for minor flooding of low lying/poor drainage areas within the strongest/most persistent storms. Showers/storms are likely to weaken in the evening but persist through the overnight hours. Overall, PoPs were raised into the 60- 80 percent range tomorrow afternoon and evening, with 30-40 percent chances into early Monday morning. As for temperatures, it will still be uncomfortably hot and humid ahead of this front, but shower and storm development, not to mention abundant cloud cover, should keep heat indices a few degrees lower tomorrow as compared to today. As such, no apparent need for Heat Advisories at this time. Highs ranging from the mid 80s along the NC/VA border to the low/mid 90s across the south. Area-wide lows bottoming out in the upper 60s to lower 70s. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 240 PM Saturday... The extended period will feature cool and wet weather. A surface front will remain stalled across the Carolinas on Monday and Tuesday. Regardless of the exact location of the front, a broad upper level trough across the eastern United States should help to enhance the surface front, which should result in scattered showers and thunderstorms both days. Weak flow will result in slow storm motion and training storms will be a possibility. WPC continued a slight risk (level 2 of 4) of excessive rain Mon across the western/southern Piedmont and a marginal risk (level 1 of 4) for all of central NC on Tue. Highs will range from the upper 70s in the northwest to the upper 80s in the southeast, with overnight lows around 70. As the front dissolves, focus will then turn to Invest AL93, currently located near the Yucatan Peninsula. The disturbance is expected to move very little over the next 48-60 hours before moving to the north. It's still way too early to speculate on any specifics with the system, although it appears that its impact on NC is most likely to occur Wednesday night, Thursday, and Thursday night. With the guidance available at 2pm, it appears that the 12Z GFS is on the west side of the model envelope while the 12Z ECMWF is on the east side of the model envelope. Widespread cloud cover will continue to keep temperatures below normal, with most locations remaining in the 70s on Thursday. Although a shower could linger on the west side of the tropical disturbance Friday, it appears Friday night and Saturday should be dry. Temperatures will still rise to the 70s/80s on Friday, then back into the 80s in all locations on Saturday. && .AVIATION /00Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 800 PM Saturday... Generally VFR conditions are expected through tonight. Late tonight, IFR cigs and MVFR vsbys in fog are possible, mainly across the E and S (FAY/RDU/RWI), lasting until around 14z when cigs will then lift and disperse to VFR through early afternoon. Greater coverage of storms and early development is anticipated Sat, but being near the end of the TAF valid period, will not include in the TAFs at this time. Surface winds will be light, under 10 kts, from the NW or N into tonight then shifting to be from the NE Sun. Looking beyond 00z Mon, a somewhat wet period will start, with numerous showers and storms expected Sun through Tue, with highest coverage from late afternoon through evening each day. Early-morning sub-VFR fog/cigs are also possible areawide Sun-Tue. A tropical low currently in the far southern Gulf of Mexico may impact the Gulf Coast and Southeast starting mid week, perhaps bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. Consult products from NWS Raleigh and the National Hurricane Center for details on this developing system and its impacts. -GIH && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SYNOPSIS...Hartfield NEAR TERM...Badgett SHORT TERM...Leins LONG TERM...Green AVIATION...Badgett/Hartfield
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Raleigh NC 800 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023 NCZ007>011-024>028-041>043-077-078-088-089-271000- Person-Granville-Vance-Warren-Halifax-Orange-Durham-Franklin-Nash- Edgecombe-Wake-Johnston-Wilson-Harnett-Wayne-Cumberland-Sampson- 800 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. A frontal zone will linger across the area and bring an increased threat for thunderstorms, some with a risk of locally heavy rain and flash flooding, Sunday through the middle of next week. A few storms on Sunday may also produce locally damaging wind gusts. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. NCZ021>023-038>040-073>076-083>086-271000- Forsyth-Guilford-Alamance-Davidson-Randolph-Chatham-Stanly- Montgomery-Moore-Lee-Anson-Richmond-Scotland-Hoke- 800 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central North Carolina. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts will be possible through this evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. A frontal zone will linger across the area and bring an increased threat for thunderstorms, some with a risk of locally heavy rain and flash flooding, Sunday through the middle of next week. A few storms on Sunday may also produce locally damaging wind gusts. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Raleigh NC
752 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023
NCZ021-022-038-270045-
Guilford NC-Forsyth NC-Davidson NC-
752 PM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023
...A cluster of strong thunderstorms will impact portions of
Forsyth, north central Davidson and northwestern Guilford Counties
through 845 PM EDT...
At 751 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking the strong thunderstorm
near Pinnacle, or near Pilot Mountain, moving southeast at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph, heavy rainfall.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects.
Locations impacted include...
Winston-Salem, Kernersville, Clemmons, Bermuda Run, Huntsville,
Lewisville, Stokesdale, Walkertown, Rural Hall and Pfafftown.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Heavy rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
Cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3611 8051 3612 8046 3614 8044 3621 8045
3622 8043 3624 8045 3626 8045 3625 7992
3588 8034 3590 8037 3596 8038 3599 8042
3601 8042 3603 8045 3606 8046 3604 8049
3606 8051 3609 8052
TIME...MOT...LOC 2351Z 316DEG 16KT 3639 8040
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
CAThe Roanoke radar (KFCX), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:16 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A couple of trees were reported down just to the west of Lexington.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, August 2023
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: 1134408.