Non-thunderstorm winds will be on the increase this morning, and by afternoon, gusts of 15-25 mph will occur, increasing to 20-30 mph this evening into Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, gusts of 25-35 mph will be common, continuing into early Sunday morning.
Scattered to numerous supercells and clusters of severe storms will likely develop in western Alabama and areas north of I-20 between 10 pm and 12 am tonight and continue into Saturday morning.
The potential exists near and north of I-20, where severe storm potential will continue throughout Saturday morning, but there could also be a small window of 2-4 hours from late morning through early afternoon so that severe storms do not occur.
Tornadoes, potentially EF2+ in the Enhanced Risk area, damaging straight-line winds, large hail and heavy rainfall are all possible this evening through Saturday morning.
Supercells will re-develop across the western half of the state after 12 pm Saturday and the eastern half mid to late afternoon. This will be followed by a line of intense thunderstorms entering western Alabama between 3 pm – 7 pm and exit the southeastern portions by 6 am Sunday.
This will be an outbreak of severe storms, including long-tracked strong to violent tornadoes, straight-line winds in excess of 70 mph, and very large hail. In addition, by early Sunday morning, widespread 3-5 inches of rain will occur north of I-20, with spots at or above seven inches causing flooding in spots.
The entire state has the potential for strong to violent long-track tornadoes, swaths of straight-line winds in excess of 70 mph and large hail.
No rain is forecast from mid-morning Sunday mid through at least next Wednesday morning. Another system could bring rain and a few thunderstorms to the state Wednesday night into Thursday.
Will everyone have severe weather? No. But, where it does occur, the damage could be extensive to catastrophic, causing power outages that may last for days.
Don’t wait any longer if you haven’t developed a severe weather plan. Go to ready.gov
Get helmets and shoes and put them on when you get to your safe place during a warning. Sporting, work, and bicycle helmets are all good options. If your house receives damage, you don’t want to be walking around barefoot!
If you live in a manufactured/mobile home or are uncomfortable where you live, know the location of the nearest shelter or other sturdy building you can get to either before a warning is issued or within a couple of minutes during a warning.
Click the following link to see the locations for Alabama Community Safe Rooms in each county.
If you still have questions, call your county Emergency Management Agency to find out more information. The county directory link is found here.
Keep in contact with your friends and loved ones, especially those who may not keep up with the weather. You could save their lives by letting them know about a warning!
Finally, do you know which county you live in and the name of it? How about the names of the counties that surround the county where you live? You should! This will give you a one county buffer as the storm approaches where you live. Below is a map with county names for reference.
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