ISOLATED STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE; ANOTHER HEAT ADVISORY TODAY… The Storm Prediction Center has introduced a low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk for the entirety of south Alabama and northwest Florida on this Wednesday. The good news is this risk is not in place because of a tornado risk. The concerns today will be pop-up thunderstorms capable of producing damaging straight line wind gusts and small hail. Storms will be intense at times with lots of lightning and downpours of heavy rain. We’re also going to be watching temperature and humidity levels again today as NWS Mobile has opted to maintain the Heat Advisory valid for today. Let’s look at details…
LEVEL 1 (OUT OF 5) RISK… It’s been awhile since our local area has had any type of formal severe weather risk. Today, the Storm Prediction Center has ALL of south Alabama and northwest Florida included in their Level 1 (out of 5), low-end severe weather risk zone. Let me be very clear in that this is NOT in place because of a tornado risk! This Level 1 risk is in place because of the very small risk that a few of the storms that pop up today could become strong and produce gusty winds that could knock down a tree or two across the region. Small hail will also be possible in the stronger storms.
HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE TODAY… It’s not going to be an “all day washout” for any given spot, most likely, but there is a good chance that some spots have heavy rain before the end of the day. Rain amounts will vary wildly, with some spots getting no rain while some isolated areas pick up over 1.5” in total today.
HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUES… The National Weather Service has continued the Heat Advisory today, valid until 7PM this evening. This is valid for the entirety of our local area as excessively high heat and humidity values will be in place throughout the day. It’s not news to anyone that it’s hot, it’s humid, and you don’t need to get too hot if you can help it. What may be more unfamiliar to you are the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
TEMPERATURES TO BE MORE SEASONAL THURSDAY & FRIDAY… High temperatures will drop (I use that word very loosely here!) into the low-90s with morning lows returning into the low-70s on Thursday. While the heat index will still be near 100° on Thursday and Friday, it won’t be in the 110 degree range! Unfortunately, I’m not seeing any signs in the short- or medium-term of any real cold weather. We usually will begin to get some cooler shots of air starting in early October.
TROPICAL STORM FORMATION NOT EXPECTED… No tropical storms or hurricanes are expected to form over the next 5 days in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, or Atlantic Ocean. Right on cue, the major global models have been printing several “phantom hurricanes” in the long range (2+ weeks out in some cases) but there is no run-to-run consistency as of yet. As I often caution, if you see a social media post promoting a category 17 hurricane two weeks out, it is clickbait and not truthful. The trolls are very real and I’m here to combat them!
APP… If you haven’t already downloaded the RedZone Weather app, now is a great time to do that. redzoneweather.com/app is the link to the free download. Once you have the RZW app installed on your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to turn on the specific notifications you’d like to receive. All notifications are handcrafted by me. No automation and we promise not to bug you!
See all the details in your Wednesday #rzw forecast video… Have a great day!