Much of North Carolina, including the Triangle area, could see several strong storms with damaging winds and tornadoes possible on Monday.
Triangle residents could see scattered storms in the late morning and early afternoon followed by a line of thunderstorms, or squall line, that pose the primary risk of winds, including isolated tornados in and around the squall line, according to the National Weather Service.
The NWS declared a level 3 out of 5 “enhanced risk” of “several strong to severe storms” in the area.
“We’ve gotten a risk of damaging winds and isolated tornadoes through the day on Monday with a pretty volatile environment, with 30 to 35 miles per hour, even outside of any showers and storms,” said Michael Strickler, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
The storms could bring half an inch to an inch of rain.
Tornados have the potential to produce higher wind gusts, but North Carolina tends to see weaker tornadoes, typically EF0-EF2, and winds from thunderstorms can reach similar speeds as weaker tornadoes, he said.
The strength of a tornado is classified by experts based on estimating the wind speeds by examining the damage caused by the storm. That classification system is called the Enhanced Fujita Scale and gives the EF rating, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
“With severe weather that moved through just a couple of days ago we saw trees snapped, and some mobile homes flipped, some boats flipped, that kind of thing was all from straight line winds that were probably between 80 to 100 miles an hour,” Strickler said. “And that gets into the wind speeds that you would expect with the weaker tornados.”
People should make sure they have a way to receive weather warnings, in general, but especially on Monday, he said.
Five tornadoes were reported in eastern North Carolina on Thursday, March 12, 2026. National Weather Service – Morehead City
Tornados in North Carolina
Much of North Carolina saw severe storms this past week on Thursday, especially in eastern North Carolina.
There were five tornados reported from a “relatively small, but intense, cluster of thunderstorms” along a path from Onslow County to Pamlico County, according to Roger Martin, a lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City.
The five confirmed tornados is the most tornadoes in one day since Aug. 4, 2020, all of which were associated with Hurricane Isaias.
Tornados were recorded in the following spots:
- EF 1 tornado in Onslow County near Maysville, with estimated peak winds of 90 mph
- EF 0 tornado in Jacksonville, Onslow County, with estimated peak winds of 85 mph. The path length was 792 feet, with a width of about 20 yards. Damage included the collapse of a metal building.
- EF 1 tornado in Pamlico County near Florence, with estimated peak winds of 105 mph.
- EF 1 tornado in Pamlico County near Whortonsville, with estimated peak winds of 90 to 100 mph.
- EF 1 tornado in Craven County near Fairfield Harbour, with estimated peak winds of 90 to 100 mph.
- EF 0 tornado in
While not a tornado, there was also damage in Johnston and Wayne counties from Thursday’s storms.
Around 12:20 p.m. Thursday, four miles southeast of Four Oaks, there was a “pocket of intense straight-line wind gusts,” or strong winds associated with a thunderstorm and not a tornado.
“Damage consisted primarily of snapped and uprooted pine trees along with roof damage to several homes and detached garage structures,” according to a report from the National Weather Service.
That storm also brought wild temperature swings, changing about 60 degrees over 36 hours.
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 11:18 AM.
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Anna Roman
The News & Observer
Anna Roman is a service journalism reporter for the News & Observer. She has previously covered city government, crime and business for newspapers across North Carolina and received many North Carolina Press Association awards, including first place for investigative reporting.
