COOL, CALM MONDAY AFTER A TERRIBLE TORNADO DAY… Lingering clouds will exit to the east on this Monday as temperatures struggle to hit the mid-50s this afternoon. Now that the cold front has passed, we have a streak of nice, sunny, cool days ahead through at least Wednesday. Clouds are set to increase on Thursday ahead of more rain becoming possible Friday. Our next chance of storms will be late Saturday into Sunday. More details below…
WORST TORNADO DAY SINCE APRIL 27, 2011… We had indications that yesterday might be a “red letter day,” but waking up to the news of multiple dozens of fatalities is difficult. March 3, 2019 will go down as Alabama’s deadliest tornado day since the Super Outbreak of April 27, 2011. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences are with the tornado victims and their families this morning. Destructive tornadoes tore through southern Lee County near Smiths Station, eastern Barbour County near Eufaula, with several more tornadoes in Georgia. There also were two, weaker tornadoes in our local area in Washington County.
DEATH TOLL TOO HIGH… I posted this on Twitter last night: “Despite the good forecasting, great warnings (and even the rare Tornado Emergency) with plenty of lead time, and incredible newer technologies like Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs), Alabama’s tornado death toll is at 22. We have GOT to figure out if this is a “get the warning” problem, a “not taking action” problem, or both. I realize the Smiths Station tornado may have been so powerful that some deaths were inevitable due to sheer strength, but I’m not convinced that accounts for all the fatalities. Communication seemed to be good. Yet here we are at 22+. Makes me sick to my stomach.”
One thing I was unaware of was that majority of the deaths that occurred in Lee County happened to people in mobile homes, per early reports on Twitter from data meteorologists. The density of mobile homes in that part of Alabama is quite high. Despite all this, I’m still convinced that we can improve the warning process. What are your thoughts on this? I’m always interested in constructive feedback that can help me communicate to you better.
MORE STORMS THIS WEEKEND… I hate to be the bearer of bad news after a terrible tornado day like yesterday, but we may have more severe weather issues during the upcoming weekend as a strong area of low pressure moves to our northwest. Details are still coming together but there is a chance that strong to severe storms may be present across parts of Alabama and northwest Florida on Sunday. We’ll be able to provide more specifics over the next few days. Be sure to check back with me as we get closer to the severe weather potential this weekend.
APP… Thanks to everyone who has downloaded and uses our free RedZone Weather app. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app, be sure to go into the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you’d like to receive straight from me.
See all the details and graphics in your Monday #rzw forecast video… Enjoy the day!