BARRY MAKES LANDFALL; LOW-END TORNADO RISK FOR OUR AREA…t Barry strengthened into a category 1 hurricane late this morning but as of 1PM has just weakened back to a tropical storm. That really doesn’t mean too much, as impacts across the Deep South will be the exact same whether it is technical hurricane or a strong tropical storm. Landfall has just happened south of New Iberia, Louisiana. We have a low-end risk of a few, brief tornadoes this afternoon across much of south Alabama and northwest Florida. Heavy rain continues across much of our region, but not for everyone. We note that much of Covington County and northwest Florida have been dry thus far. I expect that to change over the next few hours as more storms continue to build in. Let’s look at a few afternoon details…
LEVEL 2 (OUT OF 5) TORNADO RISK THIS EVENING… The Storm Prediction Center has opted to upgrade much of coastal Alabama and west Alabama in their Level 2 (out of 5) tornado risk valid for this afternoon, this evening, and tonight. As we’ve been advertising for days, this will be a situation where a few brief, spin-up tornadoes will be possible in the outer rain bands of Hurricane Barry. If your location goes under a tornado warning this afternoon, please get sheltered immediately and tune into our coverage on Facebook Live or in the Live tab of the RedZone Weather app.
BARRY MAKES LANDFALL AT MARSH ISLAND, LOUISIANA… The large center of Hurricane Barry is coming onshore near Marsh Island, Louisiana, located just south of New Iberia and Lafayette. The center of circulation has entered an area known as Vermillion Bay just east of Pecan Island and south of Avery Island near Abbeville (LA). Barry will officially record landfall as a low-end category 1 hurricane with maximum winds of 75 mph. The system has just been downgraded to a tropical storm, however, in the last few moments.
FLASH FLOOD WARNING TILL 6:30PM… Much of Baldwin, Mobile, northern Escambia (FL), and western Escambia (AL) counties are now under a Flash Flood Warning until 6:30PM. This includes Atmore, Poarch, Walnut Hill, Bratt, Cantonment, Silverhill, Robertsdale, Summerdale, Foley, Daphne, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, Downtown Mobile, Prichard, Saraland, Satsuma, Wilmer, Chunchula, Bay Minette, Stockton, Stapleton, Coden, Bayou La Batre, and surrounding areas.
HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE LOCALLY THIS AFTERNOON… The big weather headline for south Alabama and northwest Florida will continue to be heavy rain at times over the next 12-24 hours. Rain coverage markedly increased across the region this morning. Very heavy rain is falling across much of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia (AL), and Conecuh counties early this afternoon. At the time this video is being produced, the heaviest rain is clearly happening along US98 near the Eastern Shore at Spanish Fort, Daphne, Montrose, Fairhope, and Point Clear.
The following information was included in previous posts but remains on target this afternoon…
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!
COASTAL FLOODING TO CONTINUE THROUGH TOMORROW… The western end of Dauphin Island had some minor coastal flooding issues on Friday. 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 today into Sunday. This will be due to the strong onshore flow, as our area will remain on the eastern side of the system.
RAIN CHANCES DECREASE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY… The core of Tropical Storm Barry will continue to weaken and lift northward across the Mississippi Valley region on Sunday into Monday. Rain chances will remain somewhat elevated (50-60% chance) for Sunday, but we go back to more seasonal rain chances (30-40%) for Monday. High temperatures will consistently be around the 90 degree mark.
INVEST 93L IN THE ATLANTIC… I’ll have a full writeup about this a bit later today. INVEST 93L is a tropical wave in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and Africa. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 10-20% chance of becoming a tropical storm in the next few days as it moves eastward. We note that while the system has a low chance of developing, upper-level winds will become unfavorable for a tropical storm in 3-5 days. The system will likely be ripped apart and fade away this week. Good news!
RZW 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.
SET UP YOUR 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.
Let me know if you have specific questions. Have a nice evening! I’ll have plenty more updates in the RedZone Weather app this afternoon and this evening.
