ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY AS DELTA PASSES TO OUR WEST… A few tornadoes in the outer bands of Hurricane Delta may happen across southwest Alabama on Friday night into Saturday as the core of the powerful hurricane makes landfall to our west in Louisiana. Before we get to the impacts of Delta, we are expecting scattered showers and thunderstorms to pop up this afternoon into this evening. This morning, Delta continues to move northwest across the south-central Gulf of Mexico. A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for parts of the Louisiana coastline. The center of Delta is expected to make landfall in central Louisiana tomorrow (Friday, October 9) before moving farther north toward Mississippi. Local impacts from Delta in south Alabama and northwest Florida will probably be maxed out from Friday night through Saturday afternoon. I have all of your Thursday morning forecast notes below.
SCATTERED SHOWERS & STORMS LIKELY AT TIMES TODAY… Rain and thunderstorms will be possible at times on this Thursday, particularly this afternoon into this evening. These showers and storms are not directly associated with Hurricane Delta, but they will move from southeast to northwest since Delta’s circulation is the large-scale feature driving these small showers today. Severe weather is not expected today. High temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-80s.
GREATEST RISK OF A TORNADO LOCALLY: S.W. ALABAMA… The highest risk of a few tornadoes locally will happen on Friday night into Saturday, particularly in Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Marengo, and Choctaw counties in southwest Alabama. Hurricane-induced tornadoes generally do not last long, but they can be dangerous and produce damage. Have a way to hear warnings on Friday into Saturday!
HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage on Friday, especially in the evening hours. Heavy rain will become possible at times Friday night into Saturday extending into the afternoon hours. Most of the rain should be gone by Saturday evening.
HURRICANE WARNING FOR PARTS OF LOUISIANA… A Hurricane Warning is now in effect from Sabine Pass, TX eastward to Morgan City, Louisiana. This includes areas like Cameron, LA that were devastated by Hurricane Laura only a few weeks ago. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect on both the east and the west side of the Hurricane Warning and we note that metropolitan New Orleans is included in the Tropical Storm Warning.
STORM SURGE WATCH CANCELLED FOR MOBILE BAY… The Storm Surge Watch that was in effect for Mobile Bay and the Alabama coastline has been cancelled. A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Sabine Pass, TX all the way eastward to Ocean Springs, MS. The Storm Surge Warning does include Lake Pontchartrain.
SHOWERS POSSIBLE SUNDAY AHEAD OF COLD FRONT NEXT WEEK… There could be a few lingering showers and thunderstorms on Sunday ahead of the potential for more scattered showers early next week. A cold front will approach our local area from the northwest by Wednesday of the upcoming week, although it remains to be seen just how far southeast the front will move. High temperatures are expected to be in the mid-80s until then with morning lows in the 60s.
REST OF THE ATLANTIC BASIN IS QUIET… After we finish dealing with Hurricane Delta, it looks like we get a break in the tropics. Other than Hurricane Delta, the remainder of the Atlantic basin is quiet with no new tropical storms expected to develop over the next few days.
APP ALERTS… Be sure to download our free RedZone Weather app if you haven’t done so already. redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the app for your iOS or Android device. Once you have the app downloaded, be sure to visit the Alerts tab in the lower right corner of the app to select the specific notifications you would like to receive straight from me.
I will have more updates as needed throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. Have a wonderful Thursday!