TORNADOES, DAMAGING WIND GUSTS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT… Severe storms will be possible on Wednesday and again on Wednesday night into Thursday morning across south Alabama and northwest Florida. The Storm Prediction Center has expanded the Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone to now include much of the local area. A Level 2 (out of 5) risk means scattered severe thunderstorms will be possible with the hazards of concern, in this case, being tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Two rounds of thunderstorms will be possible. The first round will happen in the daytime hours of Wednesday across southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. The second round will happen Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. We encourage everyone to have multiple ways to hear warnings over the next 36 hours.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING – WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY… The overall risk of any tornadoes now through 10AM tomorrow is quite low. Two distinct rounds of severe storms are possible over the next 36 hours. The first round of storms will likely happen across inland areas, mainly north of U.S. Highway 84, from 10AM to 4PM Wednesday. We probably will get a break from the storms, most likely, ahead of the “main event” tomorrow night. 10PM to 8AM Thursday is the window for severe storms across the entire region as a line of strong to severe storms moves from west to east across south Alabama and northwest Florida. Please have a device, like a NOAA Weather Radio, that is loud and will wake you up if you are sleeping.
LEVEL 2 (OUT OF 5) SEVERE WEATHER RISK… Nearly all of southwest Alabama and northwest Florida is involved in the Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk valid through Thursday morning. This means that not everyone will have severe weather, but scattered instances of severe storms will be possible. Tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and hail will all be concerns. We encourage everyone to have a way to hear urgent weather warnings through early Thursday morning.
ANOTHER, SEPARATE SEVERE WEATHER RISK SATURDAY… Tornadoes and damaging straight line wind gusts will be possible again on Saturday into early Sunday as a cold front approaches our region from the northwest. The Storm Prediction Center continues to include a big chunk of the Deep South in a Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone valid for Saturday into early Sunday. Further outlook upgrades will be possible. Let’s get through this severe weather deal Wednesday into Thursday and then we will start really focusing on the Saturday/Sunday event. Much colder air arrives behind an advancing cold front Sunday morning. Temperatures in the afternoon on Sunday will only be in the 50s.
1-2″ OF TOTAL RAINFALL OVER NEXT FEW DAYS… I continue to not be particularly concerned with a flood threat across south Alabama and northwest Florida over the next few days as most of the storms in the days ahead will be scattered in nature. There could be a few spotty areas of flash flooding, but the TOTAL rain amounts through Sunday should generally be in the 1-3″ range across the region. Widespread river and creek flooding continues to be not expected.
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 Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I will have an updated forecast video posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning. Have a good Tuesday evening!