HEAVY RAIN CONCERNS THIS WEEK; FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE… Another big time rain event is set to happen this week across parts of the Deep South, including the inland portion of south Alabama. Rain and thunderstorms will be possible Monday through Thursday morning before drier air moves in later this week. The latest Quantitative Precipitation Forecast shows upwards of 5 to 6 inches of rainfall (in total) this week across parts of east Alabama near Auburn, Opelika, Wetumpka, Prattville, Montgomery, Tuskegee, and Lake Martin. Inland counties locally (Butler, Monroe, Conecuh, Covington, Escambia (AL), Clarke, Washington, Choctaw, and Wilcox) will likely pick up 3 to 4 inches of rain in total. There also could be a few strong storms on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. See the detailed discussion (below) from earlier that highlights each risk.
SHOWERS LIKELY AT TIMES MONDAY; ESPECIALLY INLAND… Rain chances have been increased for Monday, especially across inland areas of south Alabama. Showers will be most likely to happen from 9AM to 5PM, with rain chances slacking off a bit in the evening hours. Temperatures on Monday will rise into the low- to mid-70s by 2PM. Thunderstorms will be confined to areas north of us, most likely. There is no formal risk of severe weather locally on Monday.
LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK OVER N.W. ALABAMA MONDAY… If you are traveling on Monday, perhaps to areas in northwest Alabama, north Mississippi, Arkansas, or the western half of Tennessee, those areas are involved in a Level 1 (out of 5) low-end, marginal severe weather risk valid for Monday into Monday night. In Alabama, that includes places like Muscle Shoals, Florence, Russellville, Hamilton, Moulton, and Ardmore. Gusty winds and perhaps a brief tornado or two will be possible in those areas.
RAIN AT TIMES TUESDAY WITH STORMS POSSIBLE… More showers and thunderstorms are likely across our area on Tuesday. While vast majority of us will probably have rain and general thunderstorms, SPC has introduced a low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk for west Alabama (details below). I expect showers and storms to be scattered in nature on Tuesday, meaning no areas locally will have rain in place all day. High temperatures on Tuesday will surge into the mid-70s.
LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK FOR WEST ALABAMA TUESDAY… The Storm Prediction Center has a low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk valid for Tuesday into Tuesday evening forr the far western part of our local area. Parts of Washington, Choctaw, and Sumter counties in west Alabama are involved in the low-end risk zone. This means that an isolated severe storm or two cannot be ruled out. MOST of us across south Alabama and northwest Florida will have rain at times and maybe some thunder.
HEAVY RAIN & STORMS LIKELY ON WEDNESDAY… The greatest chance of strong storms locally will come on Wednesday. SPC will likely include all of our local area in their Level 1 (out of 5) marginal risk valid for Wednesday when the new outlook is released tomorrow. Rain chances will be high throughout the day on Wednesday and there is some chance that this could be an “all day washout” type event for some locales. We note that the latest Quantitative Precipitation Forecast includes nearly all of our area in the 2 to 3 inch total rainfall zones, meaning this will be a significant rain event. Some spots across east-central Alabama near Lake Martin, Auburn, and Montgomery may pick up 5 to 6 inches of rain before the end of the week.
FEW SHOWERS THURSDAY MORNING; DRIER AFTERNOON… Rain will finally clear out of our area to the east on Thursday, most likely in the middle part of the day. This won’t be a significant cool down, but there will be a cold front passing by on Thursday. Highs Thursday will drop into the upper-60s and near 70. Cloud coverage should begin to diminish Thursday evening.
MOSTLY SUNNY FRIDAY & SATURDAY… Our next dry streak is set to kick off on Friday when mostly sunny skies return to our region. High temperatures on Friday and Saturday will be in the mid-60s with morning lows in the 40s. It looks like dry weather will prevail Sunday into Monday of the upcoming week.
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 large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
NEXT UPDATE… My next video update will be posted by 7:15AM on Monday. Be sure to join me then for the very latest as we look ahead to more rain and storms this week. Have a nice Sunday evening!