TORNADO RISK TO MAXIMIZE FAT TUESDAY EVENING INTO TUESDAY NIGHT… Severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes and damaging wind gusts will be possible tomorrow (Tuesday, March 4, 2025) as the peak of the Mardi Gras season happens. Some parades across the region, particularly those happening at or after 6PM, may be impacted by thunderstorms. The main risk of severe storms across southwest Alabama and northwest Florida will happen from 6PM Tuesday to 3AM Wednesday morning. Storms will move from west to east, starting in the evening hours in west Alabama and then exiting out of south-central Alabama and northwest Florida to the east by 3AM early Wednesday morning.
MAIN HAZARDS TUESDAY NIGHT ARE TORNADOES & HIGH WIND… Damaging wind gusts and tornadoes will be possible tomorrow (Tuesday) night across parts of our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida. The Storm Prediction Center notes there is a conditional risk of a few strong (EF2+) tornadoes IF supercells can sustain out ahead of the main line of thunderstorms. Damaging winds will also be a major concern as a squall line moves by from west to east Tuesday night. There is a real chance we may have quite a few, if not widespread, power outages across the region due to downed trees. Make SURE you charge your phone and devices tomorrow morning before this event happens.
WINDY CONDITIONS FOR FAT TUESDAY; RAIN & STORMS LATE… Sustained winds of 10-25 mph will be possible throughout the day on Fat Tuesday into the evening hours. Wind gusts of 30-40 mph will be possible across much of the Deep South ahead of the advancing line of thunderstorms. Wind gusts in the thunderstorms could be in the 70-80 mph range for a brief time as storms pass through, but breezy conditions are likely WELL in advance of the storms. Temperatures on Tuesday will peak around 75 degrees around 3PM. We note that much of the daytime on Tuesday should be dry with breezy/windy conditions. Rain chances will spike after sunset as a few showers become possible. The heavier rain will set in as a line of storms moves across the region tomorrow night.
NEW “ALL CLEAR POLICY” TO DEBUT WITH THIS EVENT… We have several exciting changes that we will be announcing in the months ahead pertaining to the RedZone Weather app. I am thrilled to announce that we will be testing out a new policy with this particular severe weather event, pertaining to us giving out the “all clear.” In addition to our live severe weather coverage, when you hear me verbally give all clear messages, we will be sending out “all clear notifications” to each county in the RedZone Weather app once the severe weather risk ends for all communities in a given county. Make sure you have your specific county turned on in the Alert Settings area in the app. In addition, at the conclusion of this severe weather event, we will be sending a final, “big” all clear for the entire region as a Medium-Level Alert in the RedZone Weather app. We are making this change because of how our tornado warning policy (described below) works. This means even if we are not in live video coverage, I will still be able to clear counties tomorrow night as the threat comes to an end. This is one of many changes we’re implementing to help you stay informed and help folks go to sleep at a more reasonable hour.
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… 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 Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I am planning to do a live video update a bit later. We hope you’ll join us for that. Have a nice Monday evening!
