NC bracing for early Thursday storms that have a history of producing hail

The strong storms that were forecast to rumble through the Triangle Wednesday evening didn’t materialize, but a second round of storms expected for early Thursday morning will affect some schools’ start times.

As such, Johnston County schools will operate on a two-hour delay Thursday. Other districts to the south and east of the Triangle were planning similar delays.

“Safety is a top priority for our district and we want all staff and students to remain safe while traveling to school tomorrow morning,” said Johnston County schools spokeswoman Tracey Peedin Jones in a news release announcing the delay.

A cold front and low pressure system are expected to collide and could create severe thunderstorms late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

That second wave of storms could produce severe weather including strong winds, isolated tornadoes and large hail, NWS forecasters said.

The storms that were expected to threaten central North Carolina on Wednesday night are already battering Georgia, causing torrential rainfall, damaging wind gusts and hail, the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper reports.

Some South Carolina school districts planned to release students early Wednesday because of the severe weather, Columbia television station WLTX reported.

The storms are expected to continue into the Carolinas, where the NWS issued hazardous weather outlook for Wednesday and Thursday.

Practice round play at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia has been suspended, and thousands of power outages have been reported across Georgia including parts of metro Atlanta, the Constitution reports. Lightning has sparked several fires in the state and flights and reports of egg-sized hail have been reported in several counties near Atlanta, NWS reports said.

Flights at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport have been grounded, the Federal Aviation Administration announced.

In the Triangle, NWS forecasts expect the wind will stick around Thursday, with gusts blowing between 35 and 45 mph, blowing down small trees and power lines.

As the weekend approaches, daytime temperatures are expected to drop near 60 and nighttime temperatures could fall into the 30s. The chilly nights, and some expected light winds, could create some light patchy frost.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 11:01 AM with the headline "NC bracing for early Thursday storms that have a history of producing hail."