4:30PM RADAR CHECK… Showers and thunderstorms continue to develop and move northeast across the area as we get set to go into the 5PM rush hour. Right now, the heaviest rain is happening along the US45 corridor in northern Mobile County near Citronelle.

Heavy rain is also happening near Bay Minette, Flomaton, Century, and McDavid.

Light to moderate rain is also happening near Red Level, Brewton, Damascus, McIntosh, Foley, and Magnolia Springs.

These showers and storms will continue to move northeast in the hours ahead. The severe weather risk is now quite low.

LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK TODAY; SCATTERED STORMS LIKELY… Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible across south Alabama and northwest Florida on this Tuesday. The Storm Prediction Center continues to include parts of our region in their low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk valid for today into this evening. The main concern in the stronger storms today will be due to the potential of gusty winds. The tornado risk today remains low today, but not entirely zero. We will have radar updates posted throughout the day in the RedZone Weather app. Last night, a strong tornado moved across northern parts of the Birmingham, AL metro area. Heavy damage happened in Fultondale, with multiple injuries and at least one fatality reported. More forecast details are below.

LOW-END, LEVEL 1 (OUT OF 5) SEVERE WEATHER RISK TODAY… The Storm Prediction Center maintains a low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) severe weather risk zone for parts of Baldwin, Mobile, Conecuh, Monroe, Butler, Covington, Escambia (AL), Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia (FL) counties. These are the zones that could have storms that briefly ramp up to strong or severe levels. The main concern today will be stronger storms that can ramp up and produce gusty winds. A tornado or two cannot completely be ruled out. Please have a way to get urgent weather warnings throughout the day and into this evening.

WHAT TO EXPECT – TODAY INTO TONIGHT… Scattered rain and storms will be possible throughout the day, particularly this afternoon into this evening. There will be stable air in place north of a cold front that essentially will stall out across our region today. This means that if your community ends up being north of the frontal boundary, there won’t be a severe weather risk in your specific location. Most areas along and SOUTH of the front, however, are included in the low-end severe weather risk today. High temperatures will be in the mid-70s again this afternoon.

TORNADO LAST NIGHT NORTH OF BIRMINGHAM… One confirmed tornado happened last night in Alabama. It was a significant tornado that will likely be rated EF2 or EF3 later today when the NWS survey team assesses the damage. The tornado touched down in and near Fultondale, Alabama, which is located only 5 miles north of the heart of Downtown Birmingham in Jefferson County. Multiple injuries happened and at the time of this writing, we know of at least one person that was killed. While that type of damage and devastation is not expected locally, it goes to show that it only takes one tornado to cause major damage. If you missed my post earlier this morning, see this photo.

COLD FRONT MOVES BY ON WEDNESDAY… Rain and storms will clear out to our east in the midday and afternoon hours of Wednesday. Cooler, drier air will filter in behind a cold front that will move to our east. Temperatures will be in the 40s by Wednesday evening, falling into the upper-30s by daybreak on Thursday.

CLEARING SKIES THURSDAY; SUNNY FRIDAY… Skies will continue to clear on Thursday. High temperatures will be in the mid-50s in a return to more winter-like weather. Overnight lows on Friday morning could easily be near or just below the freezing mark. Cooler temperatures won’t last long, however, as we quickly rebound to near 70 by Saturday.

FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE SUNDAY… Clouds will increase on Saturday ahead of a chance of rain on Sunday. For now, it seems like thunderstorms will be hard to come by due to lack of instability ahead of an approaching front. This is something we will be monitoring over the next few days.

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… Be sure to download our free RedZone Weather app if you haven’t done so already. redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the app for your iOS or Android device. Once you have the app downloaded, be sure to visit the Alerts tab in the lower right corner of the app to select the specific notifications you would like to receive straight from me.

See all the details in your Tuesday #rzw forecast video. Have a great day!

RADAR CHECK AS OF 6AM… Heavier rain is moving into areas near Fort Walton Beach and Destin in Okaloosa County. These scattered showers and storms will bring intermittent rain in the next few hours to the northwest Florida coast. Scattered showers and storms farther inland continue to slowly move southward toward the coast. No severe weather as of 6AM.