STRONG STORMS AHEAD WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY; GORGEOUS TUESDAY… Before we get to the potential for severe thunderstorms tomorrow (Wednesday) into early Thursday, we have a glorious Tuesday on tap for south Alabama and northwest Florida. High temperatures will be in the low- to mid-70s across the region with an abundance of sunshine today. Much of the day on Wednesday will likely be dry ahead of an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening hours. The severe weather risk will setup mainly in the evening and overnight hours when a few tornadoes and damaging winds will be possible. A few more Tuesday morning forecast notes are below.
NICE TUESDAY; COOLER TEMPERATURES TODAY… Plenty of sunshine is ahead on this Tuesday. High temperatures will be in the low- to mid-70s across the region today. Really nice by late October standards! It remains to be seen just how much the atmosphere will destabilize tomorrow into tomorrow night ahead of the potential for severe storms. If a surge of higher dewpoint values can spread across our region tomorrow evening, that will mean the severe weather risk will materialize. If not, storms may be more limited to areas closer to the immediate coast.
MAIN CONCERNS: DAMAGING WIND GUSTS & A FEW TORNADOES… The primary severe weather hazards on Wednesday night into Thursday will be damaging straight line winds and a few tornadoes. The tornado risk will almost certainly be maximized in areas closer to the immediate coast, thus if you are in Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Santa Rosa, or Okaloosa counties, your tornado risk may be just a bit higher compared to areas farther inland. MOST communities will simply have rain at times Wednesday into Thursday. That is what you should expect, with rain for most and MOST (not all) of the severe weather issues being to our west. The concern is that one or two isolated severe storms may happen ahead of an advancing line of storms Wednesday night that may produce a few tornadoes or gusty winds.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING – WEDNESDAY NIGHT… Strong to severe storms will likely set up to our west during the daytime hours of Wednesday. Our severe weather risk in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida will happen from 8PM Wednesday to 8AM on Thursday. This means that the risk is predominately in the overnight hours. Please have a way to get warnings Wednesday night before you go to sleep. Storms will enter from the west and gradually move across the region, likely exiting to our east no later than 8AM.
TORNADO WARNING POLICY… Any time there is an active tornado warning in effect for southwest Alabama or northwest Florida, we provide uninterrupted, live video coverage on Facebook Live and in the RedZone Weather app. Our detailed coverage commitment is outlined at redzoneweather.com/coverage. We are proud to cover all parts of Escambia (AL), Covington, Monroe, Conecuh, Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Washington, Butler, Escambia (FL), Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties. If you live in any locale in those counties, be sure to tune into our coverage whenever there is an active tornado warning!
APP ALERTS… 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 updates posted throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. See all of the morning forecast details in your Tuesday morning #rzw forecast video. Have a great day!