SUNNY TODAY; SEVERE WEATHER LIKELY THIS WEEKEND… Sunshine is the story on this Monday despite our focus clearly now being on the upcoming weekend when strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible. The Storm Prediction Center took the rare step yesterday of including all of our local area and much of the Deep South in a severe weather risk zone 6 days out from Saturday, when the risk of severe weather will happen. All modes of severe weather will be possible Friday into Saturday, including tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, flash flooding, and large hail. Details are still scarce as this potential event is 5-6 days out. We will continue to bring you updates this week on this developing situation. Before we get there, we have a nice few days ahead. Sunny skies are expected today with high temperatures near 70°. Let’s look at your forecast details.
RARE TO HAVE A SEVERE WEATHER RISK ZONE LIKE THIS IN JANUARY… It is uncommon to have the Storm Prediction Center issue severe weather outlooks valid for 5-7 days out. According to SPC Meteorologist Evan Bentley, 0 to 6 of these outlooks are issued each year. Bentley says, “If my search through our archives is correct, this is only the 4th Day 7 [outlook] issued in January.” The big takeaway here is that when an outlook like this is issued, it is something that should warrant our attention as the event grows closer. It is far too early to know specifics, but the idea is certainly on the table for a severe weather setup this weekend. Be sure to check back with me throughout the week fo the very latest on this developing severe weather potential.
FLASH FLOODING ISSUES POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND… While the convective (tornado & damaging winds) issues will probably take majority of the headlines as the severe weather potential gets closer, there also is the potential for 2 to 4 inches of rainfall across our area. This could set up as a flash flood event with river & creek flooding becoming possible depending on the specifics. This is something we definitely need to monitor in the days ahead. Stay tuned.
NICE, SUNNY MONDAY… Near perfect weather is on tap today across south Alabama and northwest Florida. High temperatures will peak near 70° in most spots under sunny, cobalt blue skies. There could be a few clouds streaming in from the west later this evening. No rain is expected today.
FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY… Rain chances have been lessened for Tuesday, largely because of the lack of moisture return to our area. We’ll call it a 10-20% chance of showers primarily on Tuesday morning. Even those numbers may be slightly too high. I expect most areas to remain dry until our big rain event slated for Friday into the upcoming weekend.
NICE WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY… Mostly sunny skies are expected on Wednesday with high temperatures in the mid-60s. Thursday will feature slightly warmer temperatures with high temperatures in the low-70s. The daytime hours of both Wednesday and Thursday will likely be dry, but there could be a few showers as early as the evening hours of Thursday. Most of the rain holds off until Friday and Saturday, however.
RAIN & STORMS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY… Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible this weekend, probably late Friday into early Saturday. That timeframe is highly subject to change as more weather model guidance continues to give us a better idea of the severe weather specifics. Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, flash flooding, and large hail will all be concerns in the stronger storms. 2-4” of rain is likely across our area.
HIGH LEVEL ALERT TEST ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON… We will have a High-Level Alert Test on Wednesday (January 8, 2020) at 1PM CST in the RedZone Weather app. You should receive a push notification at 1PM on Wednesday if you have the RedZone Weather app installed on your iOS or Android device AND you have allowed the app to send push notifications. We test the High-Level Alert system once per quarter at 1PM on the first Wednesday (excluding federal holidays) of January, April, July, and October. The first Wednesday of January 2020 was New Year’s Day, thus the test will be this Wednesday.
APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the graphics and details in your Monday #rzw forecast video. Enjoy your day!
