STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE AGAIN TODAY AND ON SUNDAY… Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms will again be possible across south Alabama and northwest Florida on this Saturday. Thunderstorms will likely be more scattered in nature this morning and into the afternoon hours before a potential line of storms moves into our area from the north or west. All severe weather hazards will be possible again today, including damaging straight line winds, large hail, a few tornadoes, and flash flooding. Keep in mind, thunderstorms will be scattered today. Not every community will have rain until later tonight, but some communities may have 2-3″ of rain, thus storms being scattered in nature.
SEVERE WEATHER TIMING – TODAY… The daytime hours of today look to be the core timeframe for when strong to severe thunderstorms will be most likely to happen. Some thunderstorms may happen after sunset as well, and there is a chance we see a line of severe storms approach our area from the north or west this evening after sunset. Big takeaway in terms of timing: Have a way to hear warnings throughout the day and into this evening as many of the storms may develop right over our local area!
MORE SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE SUNDAY… Another, potentially significant, round of severe storms will be possible tomorrow evening. The Storm Prediction Center has introduced a Level 3 (out of 5) enhanced severe weather risk for much of Mississippi and parts of west Alabama. I will have more info on this later today. We need to focus on the storms at hand on this Saturday before we focus on Sunday.
STATIONARY FRONT & UPPER-LEVEL FLOW CAUSING THIS MESS…You may be wondering what is driving this nearly constant barrage of severe weather over the last few days. We have a stationary frontal boundary positioned near and just north of our area, acting as a zone for storm systems (called shortwaves) to be funneled right over our area from the northwest. The upper-level flow responsible for this is expected to shift somewhat as we get into next week, thus likely helping to (eventually) stop the seemingly never-ending fire hose of severe storms. It’s not going to happen today or tomorrow, but the pattern WILL change in the next week.
DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN YET… We have reached a point where it is important for me to communicate directly that it is critical to not let your guard down, which (quite frankly) would be understandable after we have endured wave after wave of severe storms over the last few days. Other than the Hurricane Sally sequence in 2020, this has been the most exhausting weather week of my 5-6 year meteorological career so far. I am exhausted, I know MANY of you are exhausted, but we must stay in tune with what is happening – and what is happening is at least two more rounds of severe weather, one today and another on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who has helped get the info out concerning severe storms over the last few days. Please continue to help me do that as there are so many folks who choose not to watch news and weather. Mark my word: We WILL get through this together, even if we have a few more severe weather events ahead of us.
70% CHANCE OF TROPICAL STORM FORMING IN ATLANTIC OCEAN… The National Hurricane Center indicates there is a 70% chance of a tropical storm forming in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean east of Africa. This system will not directly affect the USA over the next 7 days. From NHC: “A tropical wave located several hundred miles south-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands continues to produce a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions appear conducive for additional development, and a tropical depression is likely to form by the early to middle portion of next week while the system moves westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic.”
TORNADO WARNING POLICY… Any time there is an active tornado warning in effect for southwest Alabama or northwest Florida, we provide uninterrupted, live video coverage on Facebook Live and in the RedZone Weather app. Our detailed coverage commitment is outlined at redzoneweather.com/coverage. We are proud to cover all parts of Escambia (AL), Covington, Monroe, Conecuh, Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Washington, Butler, Escambia (FL), Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties. If you live in any locale in those counties, be sure to tune into our coverage whenever there is an active tornado warning!
APP ALERTS… Many updates will be posted throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Be sure to visit the Alerts tab (bottom right corner) and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you’d like to receive from me. If you like a lot of info, be sure to toggle ON Low-Level Alerts.
I will have MANY more updates in the hours ahead in the RedZone Weather app. Join me in live video coverage if tornado warnings are needed locally. Have a nice Saturday!