Good afternoon RZW Exec partners. Hope it’s a nice Friday for you!
There is a growing chance that parts of north and central Alabama could have a few strong to severe thunderstorms this evening into early Saturday morning capable of producing damaging wind gusts. The severe weather risk for south Alabama and northwest Florida is much lower. expect scattered thunderstorms to pop up across our region this evening with another round of storms on Saturday. Here are the details…
SEVERITY: Low-end risk of strong storms for northern sections of south Alabama…
LOCATIONS: Level 1 (out of 5), low-end, “marginal” risk for Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, and Butler counties. All other counties in SW Alabama and NW Florida are not included in a formal severe weather risk zone. There is a Level 2 “slight” risk in place for much of central Alabama and a Level 3 “enhanced” risk for north Alabama.
HAZARDS: Damaging wind gusts in the stronger storms will be the main threat. A few, brief tornadoes are also possible in the stronger storms in north Alabama. The tornado risk for the southern half of Alabama is basically zero. Large hail will also be possible across northwest Alabama.
TIMEFRAME: If any severe storms are able to hold their strength and slide into the northern sections of south Alabama (and that’s a big IF) at this point, they most likely would arrive in Clarke, Monroe, Butler, Washington, and Conecuh counties after 4AM Saturday. Most of the storms will have weakened to below severe limits by then, however.
IMPACTS: Please monitor radar trends and have a way to receive urgent warnings, just in case severe thunderstorm warnings are required locally. The chance of a tornado warning being issued for counties in south Alabama and northwest remains very low.
Overall, this should be a low impact event for south Alabama. A widespread damaging wind event could happen across the northern third of Alabama. The thunderstorms that pop up this afternoon and Saturday afternoon across our local area could “pack a punch” with gusty winds and lots of lightning, but generally, these storms should remain well under severe limits.
Here is the local view of the convective outlook, showing much of our region included in the “Level 0” general thunderstorm zone (no formal severe risk). Northern stretches of our area remain in the Level 1 zone.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great evening!