TORNADO RISK LOCALLY FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY… Tornadoes will become possible on Friday evening into Saturday across parts of the Deep South as Hurricane Delta moves onshore and ultimately to the northeast. The overall risk of tornadoes is low, but it is not zero. The greatest tornado risk across our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida will be across southwest Alabama, specifically in Mobile, Baldwin, Monroe, Clarke, Washington, Marengo, Wilcox, and Choctaw counties.
LOCAL TORNADO RISK – TIMING… The tornado risk for our local area will extend from 6PM Friday to 6PM on Saturday with the greatest risk being from 1AM to 1PM on Saturday. Again, we are not expecting widespread, large tornadoes. We ARE expecting the potential for a few, brief, spin-up tornadoes in our local area as the core of Hurricane Delta passes to our west.
SCATTERED SHOWERS & STORMS AT TIMES TONIGHT… Rain and thunderstorms continue across inland areas of south Alabama and northwest Florida as of 7:45PM Thursday evening. The heaviest rain at the moment is happening near Flomaton, Jay, Mt. Vernon, Chatom, Deer Park, Calvert, and McIntosh. The overall coverage of storms will decrease in the overnight hours tonight.
WHAT TO EXPECT – FRIDAY… There is a high chance that Friday will be quite similar to today with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms happening in the afternoon and evening hours. High temperatures will again be in the mid-80s. Rain coverage will probably increase after sunset on Friday.
7PM ADVISORY – HURRICANE DELTA… Maximum sustained winds near the center of Hurricane Delta are around 115 mph this evening, making the storm a category 3 major hurricane. Some fluctuations in strength are expected before landfall. The center of Delta is expected to come ashore in southwest Louisiana tomorrow (Friday) in the P.M. hours. The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Delta to be a category 2 or category 3 hurricane at the time of landfall Friday P.M. It cannot be stressed enough that folks in and near the following Louisiana places should be preparing for a potentially extensive hurricane impact Friday into Saturday: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Morgan City, New Iberia, Houma, Thibodaux, Grand Isle, Abbeville (LA), Opelousas, Hammond, Kentwood, Denham Springs, Zachary, Prairieville, and Gonzales.
APP ALERTS… 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 VIDEO UPDATE… No live video tonight but we will have another detailed video update posted by 7:15AM on Friday. Until then, plenty more updates will be posted in the RedZone Weather app. Have a great Thursday evening!