RZW EXEC UPDATE – T.S. BARRY… RZW Exec partners, good Friday evening! I am in the process of getting ready for a live video that will air in the 8 o’clock hour. The good news for you is I have no major changes to report. The forecast remains on track for south Alabama and northwest Florida with very little in the way of major impacts expected. Yes, there will be heavy rain and some potential for flash flooding this weekend. There could be a brief tornado or two this weekend as well. No wind issues are expected locally. The latest “cone of uncertainty” and track projection from the National Hurricane Center is above. Please let me know if you have any decision support needs. The full discussion I’ll be attaching to the live video is below. Have a good evening!
TORNADO RISK PEAKS OVERNIGHT AND ON SATURDAY BEFORE BARRY MOVES NORTH… Tropical Storm Barry is set to make landfall in the next 12-15 hours along the southern coast of Louisiana as a strong tropical storm or a category 1 hurricane. Rain has been a bit more prevalent across our local area today and I expect the coverage of showers and thunderstorms to continue to increase locally tonight and on Saturday as the core of Barry begins lifting to the north across Louisiana. While the overall tornado risk across south Alabama remains LOW, it’s not zero – especially at the coast and across west Alabama. Everyone should have a way to get the warnings overnight, including something that will wake you up in case your specific location goes under a tornado warning polygon. Let’s look at what you need to know tonight before you go to sleep…
WHAT TO EXPECT LOCALLY – OVERNIGHT… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue to stream inland from the Gulf of Mexico over the next 12-24 hours. I’m observing quite a bit of rain south of Destin and Panama City that will move in overnight. This will be a more consistent rain than most areas have had with this event so far. There is a low-end tornado risk tonight and into Saturday at the immediate coastline (basically south of Interstate 10). That threat will shift inland on Saturday during the daytime hours as Barry moves farther north.
BLUE ANGELS UPDATE… The Blue Angels are still aiming to have a limited performance on Saturday at 2PM at Pensacola Beach. Unfortunately, based on the latest data, I would suggest there will be quite a bit of rain around at that time. It’s impossible to know with certainty whether the Blues will get to fly, but I would not be surprised at all if they didn’t. I’m sure there will still be many people at Pensacola Beach for the big weekend, though. If you are down that way, be sure to keep tabs on the radar throughout the day at redzoneweather.com/radar or in the Radar tab of the RedZone Weather app.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES… A Flash Flood Watch continues for all parts of Escambia (AL), Clarke, Choctaw, Washington, Mobile, and Baldwin counties in Alabama. Escambia (FL) and Santa Rosa counties are also included in Florida. This includes Brewton, Atmore, Poarch, Flomaton, Thomasville, Grove Hill, Jackson, Coffeeville, Butler, Needham, Toxey, Silas, Gilbertown, Mobile, Citronelle, Wilmer, Mt. Vernon, Saraland, Satsuma, Prichard, Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, Coden, Fairhope, Daphne, Spanish Fort, Silverhill, Robertsdale, Bay Minette, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Pensacola, Molino, Century, Walnut Hill, Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze, Ensley, Milton, Pace, Jay, Whiting Field, Navarre, Berrydale, Munson, Chumuckla, Allentown, and surrounding areas. These are the communities in our region likely to pick up the most rainfall over the next 2-3 days.
GULF WATERS CLOSED AT MANY BEACHES – RIP CURRENTS HAPPENING… Double red flags continue to fly at many local beaches across Alabama and northwest Florida, meaning the Gulf is closed. This is a subject I’ve been harping on lately because of the horrendous statistics associated with the deaths we’ve had… PLEASE do not get in the Gulf waters while this tropical storm is nearby. You could face a hefty fine and more importantly, you could lose your life. Don’t risk it!
WIND ISSUES IN LOUISIANA, BUT NOT CLOSE TO HOME… Tropical storm force winds are happening in the southern part of Louisiana this evening. We will continue to have a good breeze at the local beaches. The good news is our forecast is on track and high winds are NOT expected across south Alabama and northwest Florida due to Tropical Storm Barry.
COASTAL FLOODING TO CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY… The western end of Dauphin Island has already had some minor coastal flooding issues. Low-lying areas near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches will continue to have minor coastal flooding issues as the core of Barry lifts northward on Saturday into Sunday. This will be due to the strong onshore flow, as our area will remain on the eastern side of the system.
FREE REDZONE WEATHER APP… If you’re following RedZone Weather on Facebook, thank you! If you’re following me on Facebook ALONE, however, you’re missing out. Be sure to download the RedZone Weather app (redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download). There is plenty more content in the app compared to what I post on Facebook each day. See below about how to set up app alerts.
GET THOSE APP ALERTS… We provide a variety of different options to fit your weather information needs. You should control how many alerts you want. We help with that by providing High-Level Alerts, Medium-Level Alerts, and Low-Level Alerts. Everyone gets the High-Level Alerts. We send one or two of those PER YEAR, so not very often at all. We reserve those alerts for high impact weather events. Medium-Level Alerts are recommended for most people. They’re the important alerts, but not necessarily super urgent. Low-Level Alerts are designed for people who want many, many alerts throughout the day. You’ll also want to turn ON alerts for the counties you care about. To do all of this, download the RedZone Weather app and visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner), then tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to turn on the specific alerts you want.