The Charlotte Metropolitan Region (CMR) is a rapidly growing area, home to over 2.5 million people spread across 14 counties, nestled just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Carolina Piedmont. Moreover, the region is shared among three different NOAA National Weather Service forecast offices and their respective county warning areas (CWAs), each of which has uniquely different geography and severe weather frequencies. As a result, the spatiotemporal distribution and governing physical processes responsible for severe weather (tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind gusts) across the CMR is not well understood. Given the potentially catastrophic impacts that severe weather can cause in rapidly-growing, densely-populated urban areas, a better understanding of such events across the region is needed.
This ongoing project has two overall goals: (1) documenting the spatiotemporal distribution of historical severe weather across the CMR; and (2) documenting the large-scale weather patterns supportive of the various storm types that produce the severe weather. We anticipate our results will improve regional weather forecasts and benefit CMR communities.
This research has been funded by UNC Charlotte.
Relevant Publications and Presentations:
Cameron, A., 2026: A synoptic climatology of severe weather across the Charlotte metropolitan region. B.S. Honors Thesis, UNC Charlotte. (Advisor: M.D. Eastin) – ongoing
Allen, J. 2025: Evaluating the impact of Bakers Mountain on severe convective storms. B.S. Honors Thesis, UNC Charlotte. (Advisor: M.D. Eastin) – ongoing