GORGEOUS MONDAY; STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY… Today is set to be the nicest weather day of this week with plenty of sunshine across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Rain will return on Tuesday ahead of the severe weather potential setting up for Wednesday into Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center maintains a Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk for much of our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida for Wednesday into early Thursday. Much of the Deep South remains included in the Level 1 and Level 2 zones, meaning scattered instances of tornadoes and damaging wind gusts may happen in our area. The severe weather risk will come to an end when a cold front passes through our area likely on Thursday morning, and rain is set to continue into Thursday afternoon and potentially even into the evening hours. Skies will clear Friday morning and sunshine is the story for the upcoming weekend. That is your forecast summary. Below are all of the details.
NICE TODAY, HIGH TEMPS IN MID-70s… Sunday was gorgeous and mild and today is set to be a repeat of that. Plenty of sunshine is expected on this Monday with high temperatures in the low- to mid-70s in most spots. Inland communities like Grove Hill, Monroeville, Evergreen, Andalusia, Brewton, Atmore, Bay Minette, Greenville, and Andalusia will top out in the 72-74° range. Areas closer to the immediate coast like Mobile, Pensacola, Orange Beach, Gulf Breeze, Fort Walton Beach, and Destin will peak in the 68-72° range. Cloud coverage will begin to increase later this afternoon into the evening hours.
FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT… Rain chances will begin to slowly rise late tonight into the early part of Tuesday across Monroe, Clarke, Washington, and Mobile counties first. Showers should be isolated in nature first and then become more widespread as we get into Tuesday. Overnight lows will be in the mid-50s.
RAIN LIKELY ON TUESDAY… Rain will become increasingly likely across our area during the daytime hours on Tuesday. Most of the rain will happen in the P.M. hours. I expect rain coverage to steadily increase throughout the day on Tuesday and continue at times into Tuesday night. Highs on Tuesday will be again in the mid-70s with winds out of the south at 5-10 mph.
STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY… Our main weather focus of the week is slated to happen on Wednesday when we have a chance of strong to severe thunderstorms that will be capable of producing tornadoes and damaging straight line wind gusts. There actually could be multiple rounds of severe weather, with the first happening during the daytime (afternoon and evening) hours of Wednesday and then another, perhaps more potent, round late in the evening hours or even after midnight into early Thursday. The greatest concern will likely come from a QLCS/squall line that will move through perhaps late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
LEVEL 2 RISK REMAINS IN PLACE… The Storm Prediction Center continues to include much of south Alabama and northwest Florida in their Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone, meaning a few tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and flash flooding will all be possible.
DAMAGING WINDS & TORNADOES ARE MAIN CONCERNS… Damaging straight line winds will probably be the main threat with this weather system, although a few tornadoes will also be possible. If a squall line sets up (as expected) and ends up being the primary risk then damaging straight line winds would be the main concern with the embedded tornadoes being a secondary concern. It really does not matter if damage happens because of straight line winds or because of a tornado. If severe weather adversely affects you, it’s a big deal. Have a way to get the warnings (tornado warnings AND severe thunderstorm warnings) on Wednesday into Thursday!
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING… This is HIGHLY subject to change as new data comes in today! Please check back with me tonight as there is quite a bit of uncertainty with timing. 2PM on Wednesday to 2AM on Thursday is the 12 hour window when severe weather seems MOST likely locally, although again we note that uncertainty is a bit higher as far as timing with this system. The big takeaway here is we all need a way to receive urgent weather warning starting Wednesday late morning extending to late Thursday morning.
RAIN LINGERS INTO THURSDAY; FEW STORMS EARLY… Heavy rain will be possible at times on Thursday as moisture continues to stream into our region from the south. The severe weather risk may extend into Thursday morning, depending on the specific setup. The good news is once the cold front passes through your specific location on Thursday morning, the severe weather risk will completely end and you’ll get an all clear. High temps on Thursday will drop back into the mid-60s.
BETTER WEATHER FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND… Sunshine returns on Friday after an active weather pattern this week. High temperatures on Friday will be in the low-60s. We rebound into the mid-60s by Saturday. Upper-60s are likely by Sunday. Sunshine will reign supreme all three days.
APP ALERTS… Many consistent updates will be posted over the next few days in the RedZone Weather app. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner) and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you’d like to receive from me. Everyone should toggle ON Medium-Level Alerts. If you like a lot of info, be sure to toggle ON Low-Level Alerts.
See all the details in your Monday #rzw forecast video. Have a great day!
