TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 4AM AS GORDON GETS SET FOR LANDFALL… Tropical Storm Gordon continues to pack maximum winds of 70 mph as it barrels toward landfall in southeast Mississippi. Impacts from Gordon are now in progress across south Alabama and northwest Florida with big time rain happening near Pensacola, Milton, Navarre, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Foley. While there has only been one tornado warning just to the east of our local area so far today, I expect a number of tornado warnings to happen overnight and on Wednesday morning. Plenty of info in the video/graphics and here are a few evening notes on Tropical Storm Gordon…
TORNADO WATCH FOR COASTAL COUNTIES… The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Tornado Watch for all of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia [FL], Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties valid until 4AM on Wednesday. This will almost certainly have to be extended well past 4AM into Wednesday morning or afternoon. I also expect inland areas to go under a Tornado Watch a bit later this evening or in the overnight hours. Isolated tornadoes are a very real concern in landfalling tropical systems, with Gordon being no exception. BE READY to seek shelter if a tornado warning is issued for your area.
BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP… You need to have a way to receive urgent weather warnings before you go to sleep tonight. Again, perhaps numerous tornado warnings will happen in the overnight hours. We strongly recommend everyone know what to do and where to go. The lowest floor of a site-built structure, away from windows and doors is where we recommend going. Protecting your head is VITAL during tornadoes as research consistently proves that most tornado-related injuries happen because of blunt-force trauma to the head. A helmet is a great option, or if you don’t have a helmet, a cooking pot works too. Must have something strong and sturdy to protect your head!
TORNADO WARNING COVERAGE… Per our usual policy, we will provide live streaming video coverage whenever a tornado warning is required for our local area (as outlined at redzoneweather.com/coverage).
HEAVY RAIN HAPPENING REGIONWIDE… If you have to be on the road this evening, be aware that flash flooding will be likely in spots across the region, particularly in coastal areas. A Flash Flood Watch continues for several local counties.
NEXT VIDEO… Likely will be tornado warning coverage, but otherwise (if we don’t have tornado warnings), we’ll come back on Facebook Live around 11PM for an update.
APP… Be sure to visit the Alerts tab here in the RZWeather app in the bottom right corner and tap the large, yellow “Alert Settings” button to customize the alerts you want to receive straight from me.