TORNADOES POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT INTO SATURDAY; HEAVY RAIN LIKELY AT TIMES… Have a way to get warnings overnight as tornadoes will be possible in the rain bands associated with Potential Tropical Cyclone #3. This evening, we continue to track PTC #3 as the broad center of the storm approaches the Louisiana coast. High waves are happening at local beaches and rain continues to become heavier in coastal Alabama and northwest Florida. More details are below and in this special live video update.
WHAT TO EXPECT – NOW THROUGH 3AM… Rain, rain, and more rain, especially if you are closer to the coast! That will be the weather headline overnight. Flash flooding could become possible as early as later this evening near the beach communities. Rain will extend well into Saturday with heavy rain being possible at times. A few tornadoes will be possible overnight into Saturday. Gusty winds (20 to 40 mph) will be likely near the immediate Alabama and northwest Florida beach zones.
7PM ADVISORY ON PTC #3… The National Hurricane Center continues to keep the status of the tropical system as a “Potential Tropical Cyclone” as of the 7PM advisory since a well-defined center of circulation at the surface has yet to form. While NHC continues to indicate there is a high probability of the storm officially taking a name (would be Claudette) in the hours ahead, I have some degree of doubt that will actually happen at this point. Regardless, we’re now at the point where it really does not matter. Why? IMPACTS will remain the same locally. Heavy rain, flash flooding, a few tornadoes, minor storm surge, minor coastal flooding, and gusty winds near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches remain the concerns.
EVERYONE HAS A TORNADO RISK TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY… Usually we rely fairly heavily on the convective outlooks to ascertain exactly where the tornado risk may be highest. During this particular event, the “who is in what level/zone” does not matter. Why? Because the entire area has a tornado risk, fairly equal in magnitude. It is impossible to predict exactly where tornadoes will happen in advance, but you can bet there will probably be a few before the end of this event late tomorrow evening. Tornado warnings used to be issued for entire counties. About 14 years ago, the National Weather Service started issuing polygons for tornado warnings, keeping folks IN the polygon that are in danger and leaving folks out who are in no danger. Unfortunately, some older, county-based systems (including sirens) still exist. That is why it is important to tune in whenever you get a tornado warning to see if you are actually involved in the tornado warning polygon.
SET UP YOUR 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 UPDATE… I will be in studio all night bringing you updates in the RedZone Weather app. If we have tornado warnings locally, of course we will come on Facebook Live and in the Live tab of the app to bring you the very latest. If we are fortunate enough not to have tornado warnings overnight, look for my next video tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
Have a nice Friday evening! Stay dry and please have a way to get warnings overnight!