ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS SATURDAY
LEVEL 2 SEVERE WEATHER RISK SATURDAY… RZW Exec partners, good morning! There could be a few strong to severe storms on Saturday capable of producing isolated tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. There have been a few changes over the last 24 hours. Most notably, the Storm Prediction Center now outlooks much of our area in their Level 2 (out of 5) “slight risk” zone. Yesterday, we were at at Level 1 risk. Today, we’re at Level 2, which is the standard slight risk.
RZW EXEC COMMENTARY… This will be a linear threat of storms, also known as a squall line or quasi-linear convective system (QLCS). This line of storms is expected to push into west Alabama in the late morning or early afternoon hours of Saturday. The line of storms will push eastward across our area through the afternoon and into the early evening hours. It is plausible to assume we will have 0-3 tornadoes across our region, probably weaker ones that down a few trees. Tomorrow will be a day that we need to take severe thunderstorm warnings seriously as well. Why? The straight line wind threat will be the main concern as this line of storms moves by. Flash flooding will not be as big of a concern with this event since it will be fast-moving. Large hail is not a major concern with this system, although smaller hail (less than nickel size) will be possible as the core of the squall line moves by a given location. Rain amounts will generally be less than 1.5″ in total across the region.
STORM TIMING… The risk of severe weather will last from 9AM Saturday to 6PM Saturday for south Alabama and northwest Florida. Storms will likely enter west Alabama from Mississippi in the late morning hours. These storms will move across our region from west to east through the Saturday afternoon hours.
MUCH COOLER LATE SATURDAY EVENING… The thunderstorms that will move through Saturday are happening in response to a strong cold front moving by our region. Sharply cooler air will move in after the passage of the line of storms through a given location. Temperatures Sunday into Monday will be quite cold, with a hard freeze potentially being possible for our northern counties early Monday morning. I’m certainly not going to bother you with further alerts about this as we have talked extensively about it over the last few days, but I do want everyone to be aware that this will be the coldest snap we’ve had so far this winter. Overnight lows in the 20s by Monday morning!
CONTINUING COVERAGE… This is the final RZW Exec update about this severe weather potential setting up for Saturday. We will have plenty more updates today, tonight, and on Saturday across our social media platforms and in the main area (REFRESH tab, bottom left corner) of the RedZone Weather app. Let me know if you have any questions or need specific help with your decision support. Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!