STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING… Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes will be possible tomorrow (Saturday) night into Sunday morning as a line of strong to severe thunderstorms moves from northwest to southeast across south Alabama and northwest Florida. ALL of the local area is involved in the Level 2 (out of 5) severe weather risk, meaning scattered severe storms will be possible. The greater issues will probably set up earlier in the day on Saturday to our northwest across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, and west Alabama. Our severe weather setup happens late Saturday night (after midnight) into early Sunday morning. We encourage everyone to have multiple ways to hear warnings before you go to sleep tomorrow night.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING – LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY… Midnight to 8AM is the main window for strong to severe thunderstorms across south Alabama and northwest Florida early SUNDAY morning. The hazards of concern with this event for our local area include the potential for gusty winds capable of knocking down a few trees and also the potential for a tornado or two. This will probably be a quick-moving line of thunderstorms.
DAYTIME HOURS OF SATURDAY TO BE MOSTLY DRY; SHOWERS IN EVENING… The daytime hours of tomorrow (Saturday) should be mostly dry. There may be a few scattered showers after 3PM but I expect most locales to remain completely dry until the main line of thunderstorms moves through in the overnight hours extending into Sunday morning. High temperatures on Saturday will be in the mid 70s.
COLDER AIR TO MOVE IN SUNDAY MORNING BEHIND THE STORMS… One of the reasons we are expecting thunderstorms on Saturday night into Sunday morning is because of a strong cold front moving toward our local area from the northwest. This cold front will move across our region Sunday morning behind the advancing storms. Temperatures on Sunday afternoon will be in the upper 50s. Overnight lows by Monday morning will be near or just below the freezing mark. Winter is set to make a comeback this week. Fortunately, I do not see any signs of a long duration, significant cold outbreak. Highs on Monday will be in the 50s with 60s likely by Tuesday. Another shot of cold air will arrive late Wednesday.
APP… 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 Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I will have more updates posted throughout the day on Saturday in the RedZone Weather app. As always, if tornado warnings are required locally Saturday night into Sunday morning, we will “go live” across our platforms to bring you the very latest information. Happy Valentine’s Day and have a nice Friday night!