Overview
- NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center issued a Moderate Risk (Level 4 of 5) for Monday covering central Maryland, much of central and eastern Virginia, central North Carolina, and adjacent South Carolina.
- Thunderstorms are expected to develop from the Carolinas into Virginia and Maryland this afternoon and evening, affecting major metros including Washington, D.C., Richmond, and Raleigh.
- Meteorologists highlight very strong wind shear supporting early discrete supercells with a chance of strong or longer-track tornadoes, followed by a pre-frontal squall line capable of widespread damaging winds.
- North Carolina Emergency Management activated the State Emergency Operations Center and response teams, and Maryland’s governor declared a state of preparedness with the state EOC activated for the storm.
- Schools in the D.C. region announced closures or early dismissal, utilities such as Duke Energy readied for outages, a sharp cold snap follows on Tuesday, and the broader system already caused widespread wind alerts, winter storms, and at least 1,300 flight cancellations over the weekend.