SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT; HAVE A WAY TO GET WARNINGS… Severe thunderstorms have organized early this evening across parts of Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Several tornadoes have happened with many more reports of wind damage behind this advancing line of thunderstorms. Over the next several hours, we will continue to have mostly dry conditions, however it does appear this line of storms will arrive a bit earlier (and thus clear out of our area a bit earlier!) than expected. The timeframe for severe weather in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida is now from 6PM this evening to 6AM Thursday.
UPDATED: TIMING – SEVERE STORMS TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY… Storms have consolidated a bit farther to the east today and that means that these storms will probably arrive in west Alabama late tonight before midnight, thus we have adjusted our severe weather timeframe accordingly. The main 12 hour window for severe storms in southwest Alabama and northwest Florida will be from 6PM this evening to 6AM Thursday morning. The core window will be from 10PM to 4AM.
TORNADO WATCH FOR MISSISSIPPI & LOUISIANA… The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Tornado Watch for counties just to our west in Mississippi, including (but not limited to) George, Greene, Jackson, Harrison, and Stone counties. This Tornado Watch also includes metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana. A Tornado Watch will very likely be needed for counties in south Alabama and northwest Florida a bit later this evening.
LEVEL 3 (OUT OF 5) RISK TO OUR WEST… A Level 3 (out of 5) enhanced severe weather risk was introduced this morning for parts of coastal Mississippi and much of Louisiana due to an enhanced threat of tornadoes. This Level 3 (out of 5) risk zone includes New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houma, Grand Isle, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Slidell, and surrounding areas. Please be aware of the heightened potential for tornadoes and damaging winds if you’re traveling westbound today!
LEVEL 2 RISK LOCALLY… Our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida is primarily involved in the Level 2 and Level 1 risk zones. If you are closer to the coast and near and just south of US84, you’re involved in the Level 2 risk. Farther inland, north of US84, you’re involved in the lower-end, Level 1 (out of 5) risk zone. This means the tornado risk will be maximized later this evening closer to the coast. Damaging wind gusts will also be possible.
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!
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.
I will have more updates throughout the evening posted in the RedZone Weather app. Be sure to join us in live tornado warning coverage if or when warnings are needed locally. Have a nice evening and please stay safe!