SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND… The Storm Prediction Center has included our local area in their Level 2 “slight” risk to potentially see a few strong to severe thunderstorms Saturday into Sunday. Parameters with this event appear to be a bit more favorable for hazardous weather compared to the last few events we’ve had in our region over the last 2-3 weeks. Isolated tornadoes, damaging straight line winds, and hail will be possible in the stronger storms. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know…
LINE OF STRONG STORMS… Most likely, this will be a long squall line of thunderstorms moving through from west to east across Alabama and northwest Florida. There is a chance, however, that a few supercell thunderstorms will be possible out ahead of the main line of storms. This would mean that the tornado threat would be slightly higher. Regardless of this, damaging straight line winds will be a concern in the line of storms that passes through our area. Unlike the last few events, this system has a chance to be more potent, tapping into the low-level jet, which could be near or at a max across our area when storms move through. Atmospheric instability will also be a bit higher than the last round of storms that happened last week.
TIMING OF RAIN & STORMS… Isolated rain showers could begin as early as Saturday morning. Rain chances progressively increase on Saturday. Based on the latest data, the greatest chance of strong to severe storms across south Alabama and northwest Florida happens from 3PM on Saturday to 3AM on Sunday. Earlier in the week, it appeared this severe weather risk would be during the daytime hours of Saturday, but now the late afternoon/evening hours appear to be when storms will be MOST likely.
APP… Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner of RZW app) and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to choose the weather alerts you want to receive from us. Unlike other outlets, we will not bother you with pointless push notifications. There is an option (Low-Level Alerts) for people who want to receive a lot of alerts, however.
If tornado warnings are required this weekend, I’ll be streaming live across our platforms keeping you informed.
Have a great evening! Let me know if you have questions.