STRONG STORMS MONDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY TUESDAY… Strong to potentially severe storms will be possible early next week as another cold front approaches our area. Isolated tornadoes and damaging wind gusts will be the primary concerns as a squall line sets up to our west and moves into west Alabama by Monday evening. Before we get to this severe weather potential on Monday, partly cloudy skies are likely on both Saturday and on Sunday. No rain issues are expected tonight or tomorrow. High temperatures today will be in the low-60s but we rise into the 70s on Sunday. Let’s look at your forecast details, including a look at what you can expect on Monday when strong storms may happen.
PARTLY CLOUDY & COOL TODAY; PARADE FORECAST… Cloud coverage will decrease today as an area of low pressure moves away from our area off to the northeast. High temperatures will be in the low-60s this afternoon. Many community Christmas parades are being held this evening across the region. Unlike last night, tonight will be dry and slightly warmer. Temperatures will be in the low-50s around 6PM this evening. No rain issues are expected across the region this evening into the overnight hours.
MUCH WARMER ON MONDAY AHEAD OF STORMS… Temperatures will rise into the mid- to upper-70s on Monday ahead of the rain and storms slated to move through during the late evening hours. A few spots on Monday afternoon may even hit the 80 degree mark! It’s a brief respite from the cooler weather that will not last long. One of the reasons for the storms Monday evening is the cold front set to move through early Tuesday morning.
LEVEL 2 RISK FOR INLAND AREAS OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA… It has been awhile since any part of our area has been involved in the Level 2 (out of 5) slight risk for severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center has included a big chunk of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in this Level 2 risk. Locally, parts of Clarke, Monroe, Butler, and Washington counties are involved in this risk area. This includes places like Thomasville, Monroeville, Beatrice, Chatom, Millry, Coffeeville, Grove Hill, Jackson, Leroy, Fulton, Forest Home, and surrounding areas to the north. Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Demopolis, Camden, Butler, Livingston, Marion, Cullman, and Florence are also included in this slightly higher risk zone where tornadoes and damaging winds may be slightly more likely to happen Monday evening into early Tuesday morning.
LEVEL 1 RISK FOR THE REST OF US… Excluding the previously mentioned areas in the paragraph above, the rest of us are included in the low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk zone. This is the zone where widespread severe weather is less likely, but still a possibility. This includes areas like Mobile, Pensacola, Daphne, Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Brewton, Atmore, Flomaton, Poarch, Huxford, Evergreen, Andalusia, Opp, Florala, Greenville, Georgiana, Wilmer, Citronelle, Dauphin Island, Bay Minette, Century, Bratt, Jay, Navarre, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Crestview. All of southeast Alabama near Dothan, Enterprise, and Geneva are also included in this low-end risk zone.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING MONDAY NIGHT… 7PM Monday to 3AM Tuesday looks to be the window when storms will move across south Alabama and northwest Florida. We will likely have to adjust this timeframe somewhat over the next 48 hours as more model data comes in and we’re able to get more specific. Be sure to check back with me for updates on the severe weather timing!
POTENTIAL HAZARDS MONDAY NIGHT… The most likely scenario on Saturday points to a weakening line of storms advancing into our area from the west late in the evening hours. This line of storms could produce damaging wind gusts and perhaps an isolated tornado or two depending on the overall strength of the advancing line of storms. Isolated flash flooding may become a concern as well.
LINGERING SHOWERS TUESDAY MORNING… There could be a few lingering rain showers into early Tuesday morning, but I expect all of the rain to be gone by midday. Clouds will probably linger into the evening hours, meaning much of the day Tuesday will be quite miserable. Temperatures will probably decrease throughout the day with the technical high temperature set to happen right after midnight in the upper-60s. Tuesday afternoon will feature temps in the 50s before we plunge into the 40s and then 30s overnight into Wednesday.
COOLER NEXT WEEK… Our next freeze will likely happen Wednesday night and on Thursday morning of the upcoming week. Temperatures will likely plunge into the upper-20s across inland stretches of south Alabama. Highs on Wednesday through Friday of the upcoming week will be in the low- to mid-50s.
APP… redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the free RedZone Weather app. We post brief updates throughout each day in the app, keeping you up-to-date about the latest happenings in weather across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Once you have the free app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) then tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I’ll have forecast updates as needed throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. Have a great Saturday!
