UPGRADE TO LEVEL 3 RISK FOR SATURDAY… The Storm Prediction Center now has much of Alabama and all of northwest Florida included in their Level 3 “enhanced risk” zone to potentially have severe storms Saturday evening into early Sunday. This is an upgrade to the convective outlook from the Level 2 risk that was in place yesterday. While the risk has increased, the potential impacts have not changed that much…
ISOLATED TORNADOES & DAMAGING WINDS… There is a general consensus that the significant risk on Saturday into Sunday will be from damaging straight line winds in a QLCS (squall line) that will move across our region from west to east. Isolated tornadoes embedded in the line will also be a concern. This line of storms will likely be more intense than the last few low-end severe weather events we’ve had over the past few weeks. There is also a chance that we may see a few storms out ahead of the main line of storms that could produce tornadoes and perhaps some hail, although confidence in this particular idea remains low at this time.
STORM & RAIN TIMING… 3PM on Saturday to 3AM will be the 12 hour window when severe storms could happen, with the core risk being from 6PM to 11PM. Much of the daytime on Saturday has a high chance of being dry. There could be a few isolated showers as early as 6AM Saturday, but these will be few and far between. The latest guidance suggests rain and storms will move east of our area by 6AM on Sunday, meaning much of the day on Sunday should also be dry.
APP… Version 2.0 of our free RedZone Weather app (available here: redzoneweather.com/app) adds customizable alert settings. When you download the app, be sure to tap the Alert tab (bottom right corner) and then the big, yellow button entitled “Alert Settings.” Be sure to turn on all of the alerts you want to receive from us. I send out MANY Low-Level Alerts, but most folks don’t want to be bothered that much, and we understand and respect that. Medium-Level Alerts will suffice as plenty for most people, although you can go back in this area and change the settings anytime!
COVERAGE… I will be working throughout the day on Saturday, bringing you the latest information in the RedZone Weather app and here on Facebook as necessary. As always, if we have tornado warnings, I’ll be streaming live across our platforms. Our coverage policy is documented at redzoneweather.com/coverage.
I will have more information about this growing severe weather threat later this evening here in the RZWeather app and over on Facebook as well.