FEW SHOWERS AT TIMES TODAY; STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT… Isolated showers will be possible across the region today ahead of our next round of potential severe weather setting up for Wednesday night into early Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center maintains all of our local area in their Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk, meaning scattered strong to severe storms will be possible tomorrow evening into Thursday. Tornadoes and damaging winds will be the main concern. As always, if we have tornado warnings, we will stream uninterrupted video coverage to bring you the very latest. Much cooler air is set to arrive on Thursday after the passage of the cold front, which is partially responsible for this severe weather setup. We finally get a break from the rain on Friday, but that break will unfortunately be short-lived. Let’s look at all the details.
SHOWERS AT TIMES TODAY; FEW STORMS POSSIBLE INLAND… Showers will be possible throughout the day on this Tuesday across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Temperatures will be way too warm for a mid-February day. Most spots will be in the 77-80° (yes, 80 degrees!) by 2PM. Today certainly won’t be an all day washout and there will be several hours of no rain for many locations. There could be a few general thunderstorms across inland areas, but widespread severe weather is not expected today locally.
LEVEL 1 RISK TO OUR NORTH TODAY… The Storm Prediction Center has included much of central Alabama, north-central Georgia, and the Carolinas in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk valid for today into tonight. This is mainly because a few storms may briefly become strong and produce gusty winds, although just like with the situation that happened in Washington and Clarke counties last night, a brief tornado cannot be entirely ruled out. This low-end risk zone is in place for Birmingham, Montgomery, Prattville, Auburn, Opelika, Alexander City, Talladega, Clanton, Marion, Demopolis, Selma, Camden, Hayneville, and surrounding areas. This also includes Atlanta, Macon, and Augusta in Georgia.
FLASH FLOODING TO CONTINUE TO OUR NORTH TODAY… Much of north-central Alabama will continue to have a considerable flash flood threat today. Hard to believe since much of our local area was dry, but some spots across north and central Alabama had 4 to 5 inches of rain in total just on Monday. If you’re traveling to anywhere near Birmingham, Huntsville, Cullman, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, Jasper, Oneonta, Clanton, Marion, or surrounding areas, be aware of this significant risk of flash flooding.
RAIN AT TIMES TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING… No severe weather issues are likely tonight into Wednesday morning. There could be rain at times as scattered showers continue to develop and maybe a clap of thunder or two. The severe weather issues will start late Wednesday and extend into Thursday morning.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS: TORNADOES & DAMAGING WINDS… The two most significant concerns across south Alabama and northwest Florida on Wednesday evening into Thursday will be the potential for a few tornadoes and damaging straight line winds in the stronger storms. Depending on the specific setup, there could be some hail involved as well. While the flash flooding potential locally is much lower compared to communities farther to our north, IF storms train over the same areas, we could have a few isolated areas of flash flooding as well. We encourage everyone to have a way to receive urgent weather warnings tomorrow night into Thursday. You will need something that will wake you up if you happen to go under a tornado warning.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING: WEDNESDAY P.M. INTO THURSDAY MORNING… We maintain the ongoing forecast in that Wednesday evening into Thursday morning will be the time in which severe storms are most likely to happen. 6PM Wednesday to 3AM Thursday is the 9 hour window when severe weather will be MOST likely to happen across our region. Please have a way to get urgent weather warnings all day Wednesday and into Thursday morning just in case you happen to go under a tornado warning or severe thunderstorm warning.
LEVEL 2 RISK… The Level 3 risk has been removed, and vast majority of the Deep South is now included in the Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone. This means that scattered severe storms will be possible. Nearly all of our local area is involved in the Level 2 (out of 5) slight risk zone, where severe storms will be possible Wednesday into Thursday. This includes Mobile, Pensacola, Andalusia, Opp, Greenville, Georgiana, Evergreen, Castleberry, Brewton, Flomaton, Atmore, Monroeville, Uriah, Beatrice, Thomasville, Fulton, Grove Hill, Jackson, Coffeeville, Chatom, Millry, McIntosh, Leroy, Wilmer, Citronelle, Mt. Vernon, Theodore, Prichard, Saraland, Satsuma, Daphne, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, Silverhill, Loxley, Robertsdale, Point Clear, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Bay Minette, Century, Bratt, Walnut Hill, Molino, Milton, Pace, Jay, Berrydale, Crestview, and surrounding areas.
LOWER-END RISK TO THE SOUTHEAST… Parts of Okaloosa County, the Wiregrass region, and the Florida Panhandle region are all involved in the lower-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk zone Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Storms will likely be weakening as they move southeast, thus the risk will be lower once storms reach these areas. This includes places like Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Mary Esther, Eglin AFB, Dothan, Geneva, Daleville, Abbeville, Enterprise, Eufaula, Bonifay, Freeport, Miramar Beach, Seaside, DeFuniak Springs, and surrounding areas.
MUCH COOLER AIR MOVES IN ON THURSDAY… After the storms on Thursday morning, much cooler, drier air is set to move in behind an advancing cold front. Temperatures will actually be deceasing throughout the day on Thursday. Around 5AM, most spots will be near 70, but we will quickly fall into the 50s by mid-afternoon.
NICE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY… Full sunshine is set to return on Friday as high temperatures drop to near 60 degrees. The sunshine won’t be long-lived, unfortunately, as rain will come back into the forecast late on Saturday into Sunday. The good news is much of the daytime hours on Saturday should remain dry.
NEXT VIDEO THIS EVENING… My next video will be posted by 8PM this evening. Be sure to check with me in the RedZone Weather app throughout the day for the very latest on this developing severe weather potential. I will also be posting radar updates throughout the day as needed today.
SET UP APP ALERTS… We send quite a bit of Low-Level Alerts in our RedZone Weather app. The app is totally free for you! redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you see the download links to your respective app store for iOS and for Android devices. Once you have the app downloaded to your smartphone or tablet device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
Have a great Tuesday!