Rain And Storms Tonight; Significant Severe Weather Possible Monday
Sunday 4:06 PM
The first wave of rain and storms is tracking through central and south Alabama. Nothing has been severe so far this afternoon, and current radar doesn’t look very impressive. Still, the Storm prediction center places areas along and south of the Highway 80 corridor under a slight risk for severe weather. The main threat will be for strong straight line winds through this evening. More rain and storms are possible tonight but the severe threat will dwindle the further after sunset we go.
Most of the rain is gone by the Monday morning commute, save for some isolated showers. We’ll start with temperatures in the low 60s, and highs top out near 80 in the afternoon. There is still a significant risk for severe weather Monday afternoon and evening, though it seems the main risk area will be more towards the Tennessee valley/north Alabama. There’s still some question marks for tomorrow, including the effects of today and tonight’s rain on the mesoscale environment, the amount of cloudcover throughout Monday, and the timing of storm initiation. It’s possible that clouds could limit the severe weather potential tomorrow, and storms initiating too late and beyond peak heating would do the same.
Still, the potential for a few tornadoes, possibly very large hail greater than 2″, and straight line wind gusts above 60 mph are possible. For now, timing appears to be 4PM – 7PM for areas west of I-65, then 7pm- 10pm east of I-65. We will continue to update the forecast through tomorrow afternoon ahead of the severe weather threat.
The severe weather threat winds down by midnight Monday night. Cooler air returns for much of the work week. Clouds and isolated showers are possible Tuesday as the upper level low rotates through the area. Highs in the 60s can be expected for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon. Lows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night will be chilly, in the upper 30s to low 40s. Warmer weather with highs in the 70s is likely next weekend, with a chance for rain sneaking back into the forecast.
