ISOLATED SHOWERS & STORMS INLAND; DRIER AT THE COAST TODAY… Rain and storms will be increasingly likely farther inland today, compared with much drier conditions closer to the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches. There is no formal severe weather risk closer to the coast, but a few inland counties are involved in the low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone on this Monday. Keep in mind, this is the marginal severe weather risk, zone meaning the atmosphere is only marginally conducive for strong storms. The more likely scenario is that we will have scattered showers and thunderstorms in place farther inland today with very little in the way of weather hazards. More details on all of this are below. After today, the building heat toward the end of the week will be our biggest weather story as some locales will probably hit 90 degrees by Thursday. Let’s look at all of your Monday forecast details.

LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK INLAND TODAY… Due to the risk of gusty winds and hail in the stronger storms, the Storm Prediction Center has included the far northern stretches of our region in their Level 1 (out of 5) low-end severe weather risk zone on this Monday. Let me reiterate that I do not think we will have widespread issues and I will be surprised if we have multiple severe weather issues today. Most areas locally will have an intermittently cloudy day today with temperatures rising into the 80s. The tornado risk today remains very low, if not zero in most spots.

LEVEL 1 (OUT OF 5) RISK… Parts of Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Wilcox, Choctaw, and Crenshaw counties remain included locally in the low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk valid today. The following communities are included: Grove Hill, Thomasville, Greenville, Georgiana, Beatrice, Hybart, Perdue Hill, Whatley, Lower Peach Tree, Camden, Pine Hill, Oak Hill, Millers Ferry, Forest Home, Pine Apple, Luverne, and Highland Home. These are the communities that have a very small, yet “non-zero” risk of seeing a few strong storms today.

WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER NOT EXPECTED TODAY… Showers and thunderstorms will be possible inland today, meaning coastal areas probably won’t have any issues whatsoever. No widespread severe weather is expected across Alabama or northwest Florida and any storms that become strong won’t last long. Damaging wind gusts and large hail (up to the size of a quarter) are the main concerns. The tornado risk remains very low.

ANOTHER SEVERE RISK TO OUR NORTH ON TUESDAY… The greater severe weather risk this week will clearly set up well to our north on Tuesday. The Storm Prediction Center has included parts of north and west-central Alabama in their Level 1 (out of 5), low-end risk zone with the far northern part of the state near Huntsville and Florence being involved in the Level 2 (out of 5) slight risk zone. Areas near Decatur, Muscle Shoals, Athens, Madison, Moulton, and Russellville are also involved in this slightly higher Level 2 (out of 5) risk area. We note that northern Mississippi, western and central Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky are also involved in this risk zone. A few tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and large hail will be possible in those areas.

A SHOWER OR TWO POSSIBLE TUESDAY LOCALLY… Vast majority of us across the southern half of Alabama and northwest Florida will be dry and warm on Tuesday. We’ve included a 10% chance of showers for inland areas as there may be a few areas of sprinkles at times, but that will definitely be the outlier and not the trend on Tuesday. High temperatures will be in the mid-80s across our region.

DRIER, WARMER WEATHER ON WEDNESDAY… Wednesday will likely feature mostly sunny skies with warming temperatures. Highs will probably climb into the mid- to upper-80s. A few spots may even hit 90 degrees on Wednesday, but I think the bigger heat will definitely happen on Thursday into Friday.

TEMPS NEAR 90 DEGREES LATER THIS WEEK… The warmest days of the year 2020 will happen on Thursday into Friday as temperatures run 20 to 25 degrees above our climatological norms for this time of year. Most spots, especially north of Interstate 10, will rise to around 90 degrees by 2PM. Mostly sunny skies are expected each day.

RAIN POSSIBLE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY… Our next significant chance of rain after today will happen on Sunday into Monday of the upcoming week as a cold front approaches from the northwest.

CARDS FOR THE ELDERLY… If you missed our detailed post on Thursday evening about our new RedZone Weather Cards for the Elderly program, be sure to visit the link below for all the information. This is an opportunity for students and adults across our region to write encouraging notes to elderly people currently under lockdown in local nursing homes due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/400827163408962/posts/1525439774281023/

APP… If you haven’t already downloaded the RedZone Weather app, now is a great time to do that. redzoneweather.com/app is the link to the free download. Once you have the RZW app installed on your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to turn on the specific notifications you’d like to receive. All notifications are handcrafted by me. No automation and we promise not to bug you!

See all the details in your Sunday evening #rzw forecast video. Have a nice evening!