TORNADO RISK OVERNIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON… Tornadoes will be possible across south Alabama and northwest Florida overnight into Saturday as the core of Hurricane Delta passes to our west. The concern is that some of the outer bands of Delta will reach our area and quickly be able to produce tornadoes. Hurricane-induced tornadoes typically are not on the ground for long, but they can be quite damaging and develop very quickly. If your specific area goes under a tornado warning overnight or on Saturday, please get sheltered quickly!
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING… Storms are expected to move into west Alabama in the overnight hours, probably after 2AM. The tornado risk will gradually spread eastward through dawn and extend across the region soon after daybreak. The greatest risk locally will happen from 4AM to Noon. We should be able to give an all clear message from the risk of tornadoes no later than 6PM on Saturday.
RISK MAXIMIZED OVER WEST ALABAMA LOCALLY… The overall tornado risk will be slightly higher across Monroe, Clarke, Washington, Wilcox, Marengo, Choctaw, and Mobile counties in southwest Alabama. These are the counties that will be closer to the center of Delta that is passing well to our west across Louisiana and ultimately will move into Mississippi later tonight.
LOW-END RISK EXPANDED ACROSS ENTIRE AREA… The Storm Prediction Center has expanded their risk zone valid for Saturday to include ALL of our local area in south Alabama and northwest Florida. This means that while the risk will likely be greater on the western side of our region, we cannot rule anyone out locally from this low-end risk. Please have a way to get tornado warnings before you go to sleep tonight and throughout the day on Saturday.
APP ALERTS… Now is the time, BEFORE we have any tornado warnings locally, to set up the RedZone Weather app on your smartphone! redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the iOS or Android version of the app. Once you have the app downloaded to your device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner of the app), then tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
NEXT UPDATE… I will have rolling updates throughout the night in the RedZone Weather app. If and when we get tornado warnings locally, be sure to join me on Facebook Live for the very latest. Have a great Friday evening!