STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE THURSDAY EVENING… RZW Exec partners, good Wednesday evening! We have a lower-end (compared to the last two rounds we had in the last two weeks) severe weather risk setting up for the afternoon and evening hours of Thursday, April 25 (tomorrow) across the entirety of south Alabama and northwest Florida. Our public messaging for this event has already started. A complex of storms will approach our region from the west during the late afternoon and early evening hours of Thursday. These storms may be on the strong side, capable of becoming severe and producing isolated, brief tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you in your weather-related decision support for your business or organization.
NEW RISK LEVELS GRAPHIC… Starting with this severe weather event, we are debuting our exclusive new “severe weather risk levels” graphic to help each of you be better informed about the risk levels of specific hazard types. We will continue to revise this graphic/concept, based on your feedback and your needs, going forward. You can see in the event setting up for Thursday evening, damaging wind gusts will likely be our number one concern with isolated tornadoes also being possible. While the “power outages” and “lightning” categories do not technically qualify as “severe weather,” we know that those are two things that a LOT of people care about when we have active weather moving through.
LEVEL 2 RISK: WHO IS INVOLVED… Vast majority of the local area is included in the Level 2 (out of 5) risk zone. If you’re in any of the following communities or surrounding areas, you’re included: Mobile, Pensacola, Destin, Brewton, Monroeville, Grove Hill, Silas, Toxey, Chatom, Millry, Leroy, Jackson, Fruitdale, Vinegar Bend, Wagerville, McIntosh, Citronelle, Mt. Vernon, Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, Daphne, Spanish Fort, Fairhope, Bay Minette, Stockton, Stapleton, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, Molino, Gonzalez, Walnut Hill, Bratt, Century, Flomaton, Atmore, Poarch, Bratt, Jay, Berrydale, Munson, Crestview, Milton, Navarre, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Laurel Hill, Florala, Pleasant Home, Evergreen, Castleberry, Repton, and Brooklyn.
LOWER-END, LEVEL 1 RISK… We note that the northeastern swath of our area remains involved in the lower-end, Level 1 (out of 5) risk zone. This includes areas in/near Thomasville, Beatrice, Greenville, Georgiana, Oaky Streak, Halso Mill, McKenzie, Red Level, River Falls, Andalusia, Heath, Straughn, Rose Hill, and Opp.
Much of west-central Alabama and southeast Alabama are also now involved in the Level 1 risk zone, including Demopolis, Selma, Camden, Butler, Livingston, Troy, Elba, Enterprise, Dothan, Geneva, Samson, Luverne, Daleville, and Abbeville.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS… Isolated tornadoes and damaging wind gusts will be the two main concerns as storms move by Thursday afternoon, evening, and into the very early morning hours of Friday. Rain amounts should add up to 1-2” in total for most spots across our region, thus likely mitigating the flash flooding risk.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING… This has changed a bit since this morning. 2PM Thursday to 2AM Friday is the 12 hour window in which severe weather may happen across our region. 5PM to 11PM seems to be the 6 hour window with the greatest potential when tornadoes may happen. Have a way to get the warnings on Thursday!