BEAUTIFUL WEDNESDAY; A FEW STORMS THURSDAY; SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER RISK SATURDAY… Today will be a nearly perfect weather day with mild temperatures this afternoon. Full sunshine is expected throughout the day on this Wednesday. Isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible at times on Thursday with a low-end chance of a few stronger storms further inland. The Storm Prediction Center has included much of Alabama in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk valid for tomorrow (Thursday) due to a chance of a few of the storms producing gusty winds and hail. Friday will be a dry day locally ahead of a potentially significant severe weather setup on Saturday into Saturday night.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING – SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT… Don’t get fixated on this timing forecast and take it as “set in stone” as forecast changes are likely over the next few days. It most definitely is not set in stone just yet. 9AM Saturday to 2AM Sunday is the current window for severe thunderstorms on Saturday across south Alabama and northwest Florida. That timing may change in the days ahead.
ISOLATED STORMS POSSIBLE THURSDAY… The Storm Prediction Center has included much of Alabama and parts of east Mississippi and western Georgia in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone valid for THURSDAY. The main concerns with any stronger storms that develop on Thursday will be the potential for gusty winds and hail. The overall tornado risk Thursday remains quite low. The storms that fire up on Thursday should mostly be rowdy storms with “more bark than bite.” It won’t rain all day in any given spot on Thursday and any storms that develop should not last in any given location very long. The coverage of thunderstorms will be quite isolated in nature, and there is a real chance some communities remain completely dry on Thursday. High temperatures will be in the upper 70s.
SEVERE STORMS TO OUR NORTH AND WEST ON FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY… Severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of Arkansas, western Tennessee, and northern Mississippi on Friday. Tornadoes, including some strong tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, and hail will be possible. Places like Memphis (TN), Little Rock (AR), Cleveland (MS), Oxford (MS), Jackson (TN) are involved in the Level 3 (out of 5) enhanced severe weather risk valid on FRIDAY. The threat shifts south and eastward overnight on Friday into early Saturday. There is a chance of isolated severe storms late Friday into early Saturday across parts of central Mississippi and northwest Alabama. The main concern, however, sets up on Saturday into Saturday night.
TORNADOES, DAMAGING WIND GUSTS, HAIL POSSIBLE SATURDAY INTO SAT. NIGHT… The severe weather risk for Saturday into Saturday night continues to increase across the Deep South. Nearly ALL of Alabama and northwest Florida are involved in the Level 3 (out of 5) enhanced severe weather risk, meaning scattered severe storms are likely. We are still 4-5 days out from this event. Further outlook refinements are LIKELY. Some of the tornadoes on Saturday could be strong (EF2+) tornadoes that are on the ground for quite some time. This is a classic Deep South springtime severe weather event. Everyone is strongly encouraged to have multiple ways to hear urgent warnings Saturday into Saturday night. Unfortunately, the event will probably last into the evening and overnight hours for some communities, particularly across the southern half of Alabama, western Georgia, and northwest Florida. We will be up with you every step of the way posting updates in the RedZone Weather app and “going live” if/when tornado warnings are issued locally. redzoneweather.com/coverage outlines our longstanding coverage commitment.
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 will have updates posted in the RedZone Weather app in the days ahead. I will have another detailed forecast posted tonight with the next regularly scheduled RedZone Weather forecast video posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning.
Have a nice Wednesday!
