Strong storms muscled into the Triangle on Sunday evening, triggering a severe thunderstorm warning for Raleigh, Durham and Cary that stayed in effect until 9:00 p.m. EDT. Forecasters said the line could produce damaging straight-line winds and penny-sized hail stout enough to crack car windshields and snap branches. With hundreds of schools and several hospitals inside the warned area, local officials urged residents to shelter in place while the storms moved through, and the City of Raleigh amplified the alert across its social channels.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Raleigh NC, Durham NC and Cary NC until 9:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/Xiw1ZDENlK
— NWS Raleigh (@NWSRaleigh) July 13, 2026
What the NWS warned
The National Weather Service warned that the storms could pack wind gusts up to 60 mph, with the potential to damage trees and roofs. According to National Weather Service Raleigh, people in the warned area should move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and stay away from windows until the warning expires. Radar showed fast-moving cells capable of sudden wind bursts that could bring down limbs and blow unsecured objects into roads. Officials underscored that storm impacts can be narrow and highly variable, changing from block to block.
Who was in the warning
In a post on X, NWS Raleigh estimated that about 202 schools, nine hospitals and roughly 1,237,474 people across the Triangle were inside the warning polygon. The alert specifically listed Raleigh, Durham and Cary and called out penny-sized hail and strong wind gusts as the main threats. The City of Raleigh retweeted the alert to push it out on local channels. Emergency managers described those headline numbers as exposure estimates meant to show the geographic scope of the storm risk, not a prediction that every facility would be hit.
Local impacts and safety tips
Local reporting noted that quick-hitting summer storms earlier in the week had already produced damaging winds and small hail in parts of central North Carolina, leading to scattered power outages and downed trees. As reported by the News & Observer, the main hazards with these cells are falling limbs, blown debris and hazardous driving conditions during bursts of heavy rain.
Officials recommend steering clear of flooded roadways, securing outdoor furniture and other loose items and bringing pets indoors until storms pass. Residents are urged to keep phone batteries charged, make sure emergency alerts are turned on and follow updates from city channels and the National Weather Service until all warnings have cleared.
