Severe Thunderstorm Warning, hail and 60 mph winds hit Alamance County

Pea-sized hail was reported near the Mebane outlet mall as a severe thunderstorm warning covered Burlington, Graham, Mebane and surrounding communities, with radar showing 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail over Graham.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh kept the warning in effect until 10:45 p.m. EDT for northern Alamance County and southern Orange County. At 10:05 p.m., the storm was centered over Graham and moving southeast at about 30 mph, with Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Haw River, Swepsonville, Efland and Cane Creek Reservoir also named in the warning.

The alert covered Interstate 85 between mile markers 163 and 169 and Interstate 40 between mile markers 143 and 162, and again between mile markers 259 and 268. Meteorologists at WXII said the heavier storms were moving across the I-40 and I-85 corridor, where wind and hail were estimated at about 60 mph, and noted that the front driving the storms had stalled over parts of the Piedmont Triad before drifting east-southeast.

WXII also said the storm complex had already produced hail as it moved through Rockingham County, Albemarle and northwestern Alamance County earlier in the evening. That history mattered because quarter-size hail can dent vehicles and damage roofs, siding and trees, especially in neighborhoods where cars sit outside and older roofs have less protection.

Residents across Alamance County should check vehicles for dents, roofs and siding for impacts, and yards and streets for broken limbs or other debris. Any downed tree or power line can trigger outages and delay travel on Thursday morning, especially along the I-40 and I-85 corridor where the warning focused on the most intense weather.

The official safety message was simple: move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building until the storm passed. Alamance County Emergency Management also said residents can sign up for location-based alerts through Nixle, and NOAA Weather Radio remains part of the official warning system for severe thunderstorms and other hazards.