Severe Storms Midday-Afternoon – Thursday Update 7am

Good Thursday morning! As of 7am, all of Alabama is fine in terms of severe weather. All weather issues are to our west at this hour, but that will change later this morning and into the afternoon hours. Notice the rain and thunderstorms over Mississippi and Louisiana, they are well below severe limits at this time. As the upper air trough continues to push east and the surface starts to heat up, you’ll notice a well organized squall line develop later this morning and into the afternoon hours. The rain hasn’t moved much since 3am this morning, but the trough is starting to get a good push to the east, so the eastward progression of the line will start to speed up through the morning.

Above is the hazardous weather outlook from the Birmingham National Weather Service. The red shade is the area where severe weather and isolated tornadoes could occur today. This means, we are all in a risk to see some severe weather later today. The time-line has changed a bit, so notice the map above. The squall line will enter extreme west Alabama sometime after 9am and could continue as late as 3pm for areas west of Tuscaloosa and Eutaw. Strong to severe storms are possible for areas such as Jasper, Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Greensboro, Birmingham, Centreville, Demopolis, Linden, Eutaw and Marion as early as noon and could continue as late as 6pm. I think the leading edge of the squall line (where the risk of damaging winds will occur) will be east of I-65 by 4pm.

What will happen today… Damaging winds are the main risks with the storms. Winds could gust to 50 – 70mph along the line. There is also the risk of flash flooding and isolated tornadoes. The best chance for tornadoes will happen along and east of I-65, where a few cells could develop ahead of the main line. Even there, tornadoes will remain isolated. Stay weather alert through the day! If west Alabama goes under a tornado warning, we’ll be on TV to let you know about it on WVUA/WUOA.

If you’re issued under a severe thunderstorm warning, go indoors and stay away from windows. Do not drive during a severe thunderstorm due to the risk of trees falling on the roads. If a tornado warning is issued for your area, go indoors, lowest floor, away from windows, small room such as a bathroom or closet. Avoid a car and mobile home!

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Richard Scott

WVUA Chief Meteorologist

rscott@wvuatv.com

Twitter: Richard_wvua