LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK OVERNIGHT; JUST RAIN FOR MOST… While vast majority of us will have rain at times overnight with breezy conditions, I cannot rule out a stronger storm or two just yet. Let me be very clear in saying that the overall tornado risk is now very low, but it is not entirely zero, especially at the immediate coast. Farther inland, the greater concern is storms that may ramp up and produce gusty winds and hail up to the size of a quarter. We encourage everyone to have a way to receive urgent weather warnings overnight. We saw a prime example earlier today that sometimes severe thunderstorm warnings should be treated just like a tornado warning. I would suggest that if you go under a severe thunderstorm warning tonight to do just that: Implement your tornado safety plan. Rain will continue intermittently overnight and into Thursday morning. I expect all of the rain to be to our east by 1PM at the latest on Thursday afternoon. Better weather is ahead for Thursday evening and into the weekend. Let’s look at details this evening.
GREATEST TORNADO RISK AT IMMEDIATE COAST… The tornado risk is LOW for everyone tonight, plain and simple. The risk is greatest near the immediate coast. If you’re in Destin, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Mary Esther, Navarre, Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, Perdido Key, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, or surrounding areas, you have an ever so slightly higher risk of a tornado overnight. As always if we have tornado warnings, we will provide uninterrupted live video coverage. I will be in studio for much of the night keeping an eye on radar trends.
GUSTY WINDS & HAIL POSSIBLE INLAND… Stronger storms away from the immediate beach zones (aka farther inland) will be capable of producing gusty winds and hail. The tornado risk is not at zero, but it is very low farther inland.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH EXTENDED TO 6AM… All of our local area remains involved in a Flash Flood Watch valid until 6AM on Thursday. NWS Mobile opted to extend the watch since 3 to 5 inches of rain has fallen across inland counties today. If you happen to encounter a water-covered roadway overnight, don’t attempt to drive over it. “Turn around, don’t drown.”
STORMS MOVE TO OUR EAST THURSDAY LATE MORNING… When does all the rain and the storms move to our east? Late tomorrow morning into the early afternoon hours. I expect all of the rain to be gone by 1PM. Drier conditions will prevail as we go into Thursday evening.
NICE WEEKEND AHEAD… Sunny skies return for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. High temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-60s with morning lows in the 40s.
DAMAGE VIDEO FROM EARLIER… If you missed our extensive coverage of the damaging winds that happened in Brewton, Alabama early this morning, be sure to see the latest post where you can watch the aerial video of the damage. You can find that here.
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.
I will have your next full forecast video and discussion posted by 7:15AM on Thursday. If we happen to have a tornado warning overnight, be sure to join us in live video coverage on Facebook Live and in the Live tab of the RedZone Weather app. Have a great evening!