Strong, Possibly Severe Storms Today
STORMY THURSDAY: Not a lot of change in the overall thinking for today’s event as a dynamic weather system will bring widespread rain and thunderstorms to Alabama. Some of the storms could be severe, especially over the southern half of the state and the SPC has defined the standard “slight risk” (level 2/5) of severe storms for areas along and south of line from Demopolis to Clanton to LaFayette, with a “marginal risk” (level 1/5) for areas north of there.
This morning, a line of strong storms is entering West Alabama and the main threat with this line will come from strong straight line winds. Over portions of South Alabama, in the slight risk area where the higher instability values are located, within the line, one or two isolated tornadoes can’t be ruled out.
Rain amounts look to be 1 inch statewide, with a few localized areas receiving more, but flooding is not a concern with this system. The main window for storms will be from roughly 7AM in our western counties through 3PM in our eastern counties.
FRIDAY: Clouds will linger most of the day, temperatures will be much cooler, and there will be pockets of scattered light rain. Most communities will hold in the lower 60s all day Friday and with a cool north breeze, it will be feeling much cooler.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: We are forecasting a delightful weekend ahead with sunny days and clear chilly nights. The high Saturday will be in the mid to upper 60s, followed by low 70s Sunday. Saturday morning will be cold with lows in the upper 30s to lower 40s with some frost possible in those colder spots. A cold front could push a few showers into Alabama late Sunday night as the weekend wraps up.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Great weather for the high school games across the state Friday night; look for a clearing sky with temperatures falling from the mid 50s at kickoff, into the 40s by the fourth quarter.
Auburn will host Texas A&M Saturday (11:00a CT kickoff) at Jordan-Hare Stadium… the sky will be sunny with temperatures rising from near 64 degrees at kickoff, into the upper 60s by the second half.
Alabama is on the road to take on LSU in Baton Rouge Saturday night (7:00p CT kickoff)… it will be a perfect night for football with a clear sky and temperatures falling through the 60s.
NEXT WEEK: Monday will be mainly dry, but rain and thunderstorms will return by Tuesday with our next storm system and cold front. We will mention a good chance of strong storms, and we could very well be looking at a severe weather threat, but still way too early for any specifics. Beyond Tuesday drier air looks to return for the latter half of the week.
TROPICAL UPDATE: Hurricane Oscar continues to move northeast through the Atlantic and is no threat to land. The rest of the basin is quiet with no development expected through the week ahead.
Stay weather aware today!
Ryan
