7:23PM April 6, 2018

STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT… Numerous showers and thunderstorms have set up to our north over central Mississippi. Storms will continue to develop and slide southward into our area overnight. The big takeaway has not changed: A few strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible, especially over west Alabama. Damaging wind gusts will be the main concern, but isolated tornadoes embedded in the line of storms can’t be ruled out. Please have a way to get the warnings before you go to sleep! That’s the summary, here are the specifics…

SHOWERS OVER NEXT FEW HOURS… As of 7:15PM, we have scattered showers moving from west to east across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Most of these showers are elevated and in areas where dewpoints are not supportive of severe weather or even thunder, for now. Dewpoint values will rise over the next few hours, setting the stage for stronger storms to happen, especially over the western flank of the state (Clarke, Marengo, Choctaw, Washington counties have the highest risk locally of seeing a potentially strong storm).

LEVEL 2 RISK WEST; LEVEL 1 EAST… West Alabama remains under a Level 2 (slight) risk to potentially see a few strong storms, while the eastern half of our region is in the lower end Level 1 zone. Areas near Thomasville, Grove Hill, Jackson, Silas, Chatom, and Citronelle have a slightly higher risk of experiencing a stronger storm overnight compared to communities farther to the east like Andalusia, Opp, Florala, Greenville, Destin, and Crestview. As I always caution, it only takes one storm to cause havoc, and if it happens in YOUR location, it’s a big deal.

LINE OF STORMS AFTER 10PM… Numerous showers and thunderstorms will move across south Alabama and northwest Florida overnight. The damaging wind and isolated tornado threat will be highest between 11PM and 3AM. For most of us, this will be a rain event only, but again, a low-end severe weather risk is in place across our region. I wouldn’t be shocked if some spots ended up with over an inch of rain by daybreak, but most will end up with about a half of inch of rain in total.

MODEL ANIMATION… The model data animation above is from the High-Res Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model showing how the radar could look at given time intervals. Don’t take this literally, take it as a suggestion of what COULD happen. Timing and placement can and will be off to some extent with this model data, but the idea is certainly there for strong storms and heavy rain!

WET SATURDAY… The highest chance of rain Saturday happens overnight and into the morning hours. Rain should gradually begin to clear out to the southeast in the early afternoon hours. There is a chance, however, that some showers could linger into the evening hours. Please have an indoor backup plan if you’ve got Saturday evening plans! I wouldn’t change plans, but I would have an indoor backup.

APP… Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner) here in the RZWeather app and tap the big yellow “Alert Settings” button to configure the alerts you want to receive from us. I’ll be sending several low-level alerts over the next few hours for the folks that want to have a lot of information delivered to them.

COVERAGE… If tornado warnings happen to be required for any part of our local area, I’ll be streaming live coverage on Facebook and in the YouTube channel in the Live tab of the RZWeather app.

LIVE STREAMING RADAR… Even when there isn’t a tornado warning, you can watch the live streaming radar coverage or beam it up to your TV from our app. Just click on the LIVE tab and tap the live video. We’re streaming live right now!

Let me know if you have specific questions.

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