July 28th, 2026 - Long-Lived Supercell - VA Line to Carrboro NC Storm Chase Recap

[eyewall]

Start just before 5pm EDT: Rather than clog the other threads I wanted to post my full storm chase recap in a separate thread. It all began on the afternoon of July 28th near Sandy Ridge, NC (northeastern Stokes County near the VA line. A supercell organized south of Floyd, VA and began moving southeastward in northwesterly flow. This means the business end of the storm was on the northwest side of it as opposed to the usual southwest. None the less it had a classic structure when we first intercepted it. If it was more LP and there were less low-level clouds a barber pole with bell shaped base would have likely been fully visible. You can infer it was there from the shot below along with a well developed wall cloud:




We were able to stay with this storm for over three hours with good southeasterly routes available.  It was at this first location in Sandy Ridge where I was nearly hit by an intense CG strike (definitely within yards). The next shot shows the wall cloud with a strike to the right of it (video cap):



The next stop occurred some 20 minutes later in Ayersville, NC but we could not stay long to keep up. At this stage the storm entered a re-organizing phase. After that was Madison, NC where we got a good look at the meso:



After that the next stop was around 1 hour into the adventure southwest of Reidsville. I got video of the meso but have yet to post it. In terms of stills I got the wall cloud here:


This is when we made a wrong turn and ended up taking the brunt of the RFD which rained down tons of tree debris. Whole trees came down as well. We got back on the storm in Alamance County near Sedalia and Graham. This is where the storm structure really ramped up again with a clear slot due to the RFD wrapping in and meeting up with a strong inflow tail. The rising motion into the storm was violent and very Plains like and there were renewed lightning barrages. At this point the storm was tornado warned. Here are a series of images I got from over a Waffle House parking lot just south of I-40 off 87 in what is technically Graham. 









The next stop was between Graham and Saxapahaw at the intersection of Swepsonville-Saxapahaw Rd and Crawford Rd. This is where I caught a funnel cloud for the first time on this storm. This was confirmed by video evidence from another chaser as I was focused on stills. It also matches up to where the meso is and the overall storm structure. At this point we are 2.5 hours in just after 7:30pm. Images from that stop here:






After this I was thinking of breaking off and headed home until the rotation strengthened again between Saxapahaw and Carrboro (Oaks to White Cross) as the 3 hour point approached on this storm (an rare feat in NC!). The storm did not disappoint and made an attempt at producing once more. I cannot draw any conclusion if it touched the ground or if it was condensation of the trees rising up but none the less for now I will call it a funnel cloud seen here along with the overall storm structure:









I tried to keep up with it a bit more into Carrboro and did so but another violent lightning barrage occurred there and the storm was being overtaken by upscale growth which merged everything into a big rain-filled cluster. It was also getting dark so I headed back to Raleigh. All in all this was one of the most incredible chase experiences I have had and I will not forget it. Bonus shots below: