SATURDAY LEVEL 4 (OUT OF 5) RISK EXPANDS TO ALL OF SOUTH AL & N.W. FL… The forecast logic has not changed since last night: We are expecting a major severe weather event on Saturday into Saturday night with a few storms being possible as early as overnight TONIGHT into Saturday morning. ALL of south Alabama and northwest Florida are now involved in the Level 4 (out of 5) significant severe weather risk zone. Round 1 (of 2) of the storms will be possible across west Alabama in the pre-dawn hours early Saturday morning. Round 2 (of 2) is the “main event” with the potential for strong, potentially intense, tornadoes. The main risk for south Alabama and northwest Florida happens from Noon Saturday to 3AM Sunday.
WILL SPC INTRODUCE A LEVEL 5 (OUT OF 5) RISK?… Quite frankly, it matters very little at this point. This is set to be a major, potentially dangerous severe weather event with multiple, intense tornadoes being possible. A Level 4 (out of 5) risk happens, on average, once or twice per year locally. The last time we had any part of our area in a Level 5 high risk was in 2021, briefly. Before that, the previous time we had a Level 5 (out of 5) risk locally was in March 2007 during the outbreak that caused the EF4 tornadoes in Enterprise, AL and Millers Ferry, AL. Whether SPC chooses to introduce a high risk matters very little. What matters is that we get out information to everyone possible to make sure we have everyone “weather aware” this weekend. Please spread the info to folks who may not be as “weather aware” as you.
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, YouTube Live, and in the Live tab of 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!
SET UP APP ALERTS… We send quite a bit of Low-Level Alerts in our RedZone Weather app. The app is totally free for you! redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you see the download links to your respective app store for iOS and for Android devices. Once you have the app downloaded to your smartphone or tablet device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
I am in the process of putting together the regularly scheduled morning forecast video that will be posted by 7:15AM. Be sure to join me for that as we do an in-depth analysis on the severe weather maps.
Have a great Friday and please stay safe this weekend!
