ISOLATED STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT; COLD FOR CHRISTMAS… Mostly sunny skies are expected today ahead of rain and thunderstorms returning to our forecast on Wednesday evening into the early morning hours of Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center continues to include our local coastal counties in their Level 1 (out of 5) low-end severe weather risk zone valid for Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. While gusty winds will be the main concern in the passing storms, I cannot completely rule out a brief tornado or two. Vast majority of us will just have rain as this potent cold front passes through our region. Rain will come to an end by Thursday afternoon in most spots, and then a significant shot of cold air moves in. Temperatures by Christmas morning will be below freezing with highs only in the 40s for many spots for Christmas Day! Below are all of your Tuesday forecast details.
SLIGHTLY WARMER & MOSTLY SUNNY TODAY… Mostly sunny skies are likely throughout the day on this Tuesday. High temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-60s this afternoon. We could see a few passing clouds after sunset.
FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE LATE IN THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY… Cloud coverage will increase throughout the day on Wednesday. High temperatures will be in the upper-60s again. I expect much of the day Wednesday to be dry, but we could begin to see showers develop after 1PM, particularly across west Alabama. Rain chances will progressively increase through the evening hours.
WHAT TO EXPECT WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY… Scattered showers will be the main event for most locales across our region. If you’re farther inland in communities like Thomasville, Monroeville, Greenville, Beatrice, or Coffeeville, the severe weather risk looks QUITE low, if not near zero. Rain and perhaps a few rumbles of thunder will be possible in inland communities. The severe weather issues, if we have any, will likely happen closer to the immediate coast.
GREATER RISK OF STRONGER STORMS CLOSER TO THE COAST… The Storm Prediction Center continues to include parts of Baldwin, Mobile, Escambia (AL), Covington, Escambia (FL), Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk valid late Wednesday into early Thursday. These are the zones that have the low-end chance of seeing a strong or severe storm. This includes places like Mobile, Pensacola, Daphne, Fairhope, Bay Minette, Foley, Loxley, Saraland, Satsuma, Prichard, Wilmer, Bayou La Batre, Coden, Dauphin Island, Atmore, Flomaton, Brewton, Century, Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino, Gonzalez, Perdido Key, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Milton, Pace, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Jay, Berrydale, Munson, Baker, Crestview, Laurel Hill, Wing, Florala, Destin, Mary Esther, Fort Walton Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, DeFuniak Springs, and surrounding areas.
TIMING – SEVERE WEATHER RISK… The main window for a few strong storms is likely to set up from 10PM Wednesday to 10AM Thursday, with the main window likely being from 3AM to 8AM.
MUCH COOLER AIR ARRIVES JUST IN TIME FOR SANTA… After the rain and storms, much cooler air is poised to move into the entire region. We will have our high temperature (around 62 degrees) on Christmas Eve Thursday technically just after midnight as temperatures will “go the wrong way” all day. By 2PM, most spots will be in the mid-40s with most spots falling into the upper-30s by 8PM. Santa Claus looks to have a nice ride across south Alabama and northwest Florida as rain and clouds will be well to our east.
QUITE COLD ON CHRISTMAS DAY… Just looking at the projected temperatures for Christmas Day on Friday, this will likely end up being our coldest Christmas Day we have had in 10-11 years. High temperatures will not get out of the 40s in many spots. Christmas Night into Saturday will be quite cold as well with lows in the mid- to upper-20s.
FEW CLOUDS ON SATURDAY… Temperatures will begin to rebound on Saturday as high temperatures rise into the 50s. Other than a few passing clouds, our weather pattern will remain quiet Saturday into Sunday morning.
APP ALERTS…redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the free RedZone Weather app. We post brief updates throughout each day in the app, keeping you up-to-date about the latest happenings in weather across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Once you have the free app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) then tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the details in your Tuesday #rzw forecast video. Have a great day!