NWS issues a new tornado watch. Here’s which NC counties are impacted.

Teddy Rosenbluth

The threat of a tornado in Wake County has “come to an end,” according to the National Weather Service.

However, a new tornado watch — which means there are favorable conditions for one to form — will be issued for most of central North Carolina until 8 p.m., said Tom Green, a meteorologist at NWS.

This watch will impact several counties, including Wake, Orange, Durham, Johnston, and Moore Counties. The full list of impacted counties can be found here.

A tornado touched down in Garner. Here are photos from the destruction and cleanup

Green said there may be additional tornado warnings — which indicates that the tornado has been confirmed on their radar.

NWS issued a tornado warning for parts of Wake and Johnston County on Sunday afternoon that ended at 1:30 p.m.

Lisa Stanley, center, and friends start to clean up knocked down trees that hit her son, Griffin’s, home on Buckhorn Road in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. Lisa said after the storm passed she texted her circle group from Holland’s Church and people showed up to help out. “What an awesome church family” said Stanley.
Lisa Stanley, center, and friends start to clean up knocked down trees that hit her son, Griffin’s, home on Buckhorn Road in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. Lisa said after the storm passed she texted her circle group from Holland’s Church and people showed up to help out. “What an awesome church family” said Stanley.

WRAL reported that a tornado touched down in Garner, citing sources at the State Highway Patrol. A spokesperson for the NWS said they saw some possible debris in the air and reports of damage in Garner but said it was unclear whether that was due to wind gusts or a tornado.

A powerful storm drove a tree branch into the wall of the soon to be open Sully’s Golf and Gather building at the intersection of Timber Drive and Woodland Road in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. A powerful storm roared through the area, knocking down trees and cutting off power.
A powerful storm drove a tree branch into the wall of the soon to be open Sully’s Golf and Gather building at the intersection of Timber Drive and Woodland Road in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. A powerful storm roared through the area, knocking down trees and cutting off power.

Griffin Stanley, who lives on Buckhorn Road in Garner, was playing video games on a calm, gloomy Sunday when he noticed that the rain had started falling sideways.

He looked out the window at his yard and saw a branch crush his grill. With his three dogs -- two Australian Shepherds and a Chihuahua mix -- he ran to the pantry for shelter.

“As soon as I closed the door, I heard bangs,” he told the News & Observer. “I barely got into the pantry in time.”

A branch broke through his laundry room, he said. But within a few hours, more than a dozen people from the neighborhood and his mother’s church, Holland’s Church, had gathered at his house to help clean up.

Garner police direct traffic off Timber Drive at Woodland Road after a storm knocked down limbs and traffic lights in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023.
Garner police direct traffic off Timber Drive at Woodland Road after a storm knocked down limbs and traffic lights in Garner, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023.

Steve Dezern, who lives down the street from Stanley, had branches and tree limbs littered around his yard and through his roof Sunday afternoon. He said he hadn’t seen this many branches down since Hurricane Fran.

“I was going to mow tomorrow,” he told the News & Observer. “I figured that was pretty much off the table.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day with more information.

Ethan Hyman contributed to this reporting.

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