GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A developing cold front will drift towards us today, flowing southward out of West Virginia and Virginia. The system will wait to push into the East until Tuesday, and because of the above average temperatures and high moisture content, strong to severe storms are expected from lunchtime to sunset tomorrow. This threat of rough weather has prompted a First Alert Weather Day.

The combination of temperatures in the mid 80s and dew points in the 60s will encourage storm formation ahead of the main front. A few isolated severe storms could develop as early as 1 p.m. The frequency of storms will gradually increase through the afternoon and into the early evening. The storms will push offshore around or a little after 9 p.m. While a few isolated showers may linger behind the main line, once the front clears the coast, the severe threat will be gone.

The storms will reach their peak strength between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. however storms could pop-up/linger outside of this time frame.

We are anticipating straight line wind gusts at or exceeding 60 mph and quarter sized hail in the strongest storms. An isolated tornado can not be ruled out either, especially as the front approaches the coast. We encourage you to download the WITN Weather App on your phone/tablet so you can receive weather warnings and alerts as they are issued.