Good Monday evening! Sorry I’m getting the weather forecast on later than normal. Things have been really busy since the big tornado outbreak west of Alabama this afternoon. A quick update on that… There were lots of tornadoes produced across the Oklahoma and Texas areas, but one tornado managed to do something we all fear, move over a huge population center. As we (from Alabama) understand, a tornado in a large population can be a disaster; especially a very large tornado. As of 8:30pm, the death toll was up to 51 and rising. Reports show the tornado was atleast an EF-4, with a likely upgrade to EF-5. The damage path was 2.25 miles wide in spots. This makes the tornado one of the widest in US History. The National Weather Service will have more information on this soon. I’ll be sure to post the info.

As for our local weather, we have no worries for severe weather at this time. The storm system that produced the outbreak over the weekend and today will produce one more tornado outbreak tomorrow. This outbreak will occur over parts of Louisiana and Arkansas, where tornadoes, large hail and wind damage are all likely. After Tuesday, the storm system will weaken quickly before reaching us on Wednesday. The best shear and dynamics will pass well north of Alabama, so I don’t expect tornadoes around here on Wednesday.

Tuesday will remain hot in Alabama, with highs in the lower 90s. Skies will remain mostly sunny on Tuesday. Heat index values will reach the middle 90s in spots. A cold front will reach our area on Wednesday, with a good chance of scattered showers and storms. Rain chances are at 50%, so not everyone will get rain. Again, I do not expect severe weather around here with that system, but I’ll keep an eye on it.

Dry air takes over on Thursday and Friday, with a decrease in humidity. Highs will remain in the 80s, but lows will fall into the upper 50s or lower 60s Thursday night and Friday night.

Send us your weather pictures! Send them to weather@wvuatv.com. Also, look us up on facebook and twitter. Like us on facebook by searching facebook.com/wvuaweather or WVUA-TV Weather. You can find us on twitter by searching weather@wvuatv.comor WVUA-TV Weather. Great way to get weather updates! Plus, facebook is a great way to send us weather pictures. Simply tag us!

Join us live on WVUA-TV weekdays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 pm and weekends at 10pm for the very latest on your news, weather and sports.

Richard Scott

WVUA Chief Meteorologist

rscott@wvuatv.com

Twitter: Richard_wvua

We began to feel the impacts of the much-advertised mid-level ridge across west Alabama this afternoon. This ridge is beginning to slowly nudge in from the west, and as a result, the concentration of showers and storms shifted east of us into eastern Alabama and western Georgia today. Models remain in good agreement that this ridge will continue shifting eastward during the day Monday, giving us mostly clear conditions and afternoon highs right around 90!

Meanwhile, a major severe weather outbreak unfolded across the central Plains this afternoon, and another round of major severe weather is expected tomorrow across parts of eastern Oklahoma, southwestern Missouri, and western Arkansas in association with a powerful storm system. Here in west Alabama though, we will stay dry through Tuesday with just a few more clouds to talk about Tuesday afternoon as highs once again top out around 90 degrees.

The storm system responsible for all the severe weather in the Plains will finally begin to impact our neck of the woods by Wednesday. The good news is that the main dynamics associated with it will be pushing well to our north, which means our severe weather threat will be minimal at best. In fact, I’m only expecting a few strong storms with no organized severe weather in the cards as of now, but as always stay tuned as finer details are resolved.

The frontal boundary will be slow to push through the area, and may stall across south-central Alabama by Thursday. Therefore, I’m a little hesitant to completely remove rain chances for Thursday, but I do think the higher coverage of any rain and storms will be across south Alabama at this time. High pressure looks to try and build for Friday which should keep us dry, but a easterly to southeasterly flow returns by the weekend, resulting in a gradual increase in moisture. A few showers or storms could show up on the radar by Sunday afternoon.

Isaac Williams
WVUA-TV Weather
Twitter: @WVUA_Isaac

Much of west Alabama has stayed dry thus far on this Saturday as temperatures remain in the mid 70s to lower 80s across the area though it is quite muggy; dew point temperatures remain around 70 degrees. Some shower activity located over northwest Tennessee will drift southeastward overnight tonight, and a stray shower or storm is possible…however I think the highest chance of seeing any stray showers or storms will be along and east of I-65 after Midnight across northeast Alabama. This looks to continue tomorrow as well, as most short term high-resolution guidance is suggesting any shower activity will be over northeast and east Alabama tomorrow in association with a subtle vorticity lobe moving through the northwest flow aloft. Meanwhile, a powerful storm system in the nation’s mid-section will likely bring a severe weather outbreak to portions of Oklahoma and Kansas into Missouri tomorrow.

Around this way though, mid-level ridging settles in for Monday and into Tuesday. What this should mean is an overall decrease in cloud cover and increase in afternoon temperatures. Some spots in west Alabama have the chance to crack the 9-0 on the thermometer each day. This ridge will be stubborn and help slow the eastward advancement of a trough of low pressure currently located over the central Plains, but the trough will finally win the battle by mid-week.

We will eventually have a frontal system approach the area for Wednesday and into Thursday. With most of the energy pulling way to our north, I’m not expecting anything too organized in the severe weather department at this time. But, we can expect scattered showers and storms late Wednesday and more likely during the day Thursday. A few strong storms are certainly possible as highs stay in the upper 80s.

For the weekend, the Euro model is more bullish on the idea of a large mid-level ridge building into the southeast that’s actually stronger than the one we are forecasting for Monday and Tuesday. If this solution were to be correct, temperatures would likely get into the 91-94 range. But, the GFS keeps heights a little lower through the weekend, which would mean temperatures in the mid to upper 80s most likely. So stay tuned through the week as the weekend forecast will probably need some tweaking as models come into better agreement.

Isaac Williams
WVUA-TV Weather
Twitter: @WVUA_Isaac

Good Friday evening! After most areas across west and central Alabamaa dealt with rain and thunderstorms, the coverage of rain is gradually decreasing. As of 10:30pm, a few scattered storms are drifting across the area. We can expect most storms to die out tonight, but a few isolated storms will continue. Lows will fall into the upper 60s tonight, with some fog.

Saturday will feature the risk of scattered showers and storms, but not everyone will get rain and storms won’t last long at all. If a scattered storm moves over your area this weekend, it shouldn’t last more than an hour. Overall, the weekend forecast is looking fair. Look for a partly cloudy sky and very humid conditions. Highs will reach the 80s through the entire weekend and lower 90s on Monday. The best chance of scattered storms over the weekend will occur north of I-20.

Send us your weather pictures! Send them to weather@wvuatv.com. Also, look us up on facebook and twitter. Like us on facebook by searching facebook.com/wvuaweather or WVUA-TV Weather. You can find us on twitter by searching weather@wvuatv.comor WVUA-TV Weather. Great way to get weather updates! Plus, facebook is a great way to send us weather pictures. Simply tag us!

Join us live on WVUA-TV weekdays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 pm and weekends at 10pm for the very latest on your news, weather and sports.

Richard Scott

WVUA Chief Meteorologist

rscott@wvuatv.com

Twitter: Richard_wvua

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
  SOUTHEASTERN BIBB COUNTY IN ALABAMA…
  CENTRAL CHILTON COUNTY IN ALABAMA…

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 724 PM CDT…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL…AND DAMAGING
  WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR TALLADEGA
  NATIONAL FOREST…OR 11 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CENTREVILLE…AND MOVING
  EAST AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
  LAWLEY…CHILTON COUNTY MOTOR SPORTS PARK…RANDOLPH…CAMPBELL…
  NEW CONVERT AND ISABELLA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

FOR YOUR PROTECTION…MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF
YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER…
CALL 1-800-856-0758 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

LAT…LON 3292 8666 3276 8670 3284 8699 3291 8698
TIME…MOT…LOC 0026Z 278DEG 18KT 3287 8696

The Storm Prediction Center has just issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of west-central into south-central Alabama until 11 PM this evening. Large hail and damaging wind gusts will be the primary threat with these storms as they continue to move generally towards the east over the next several hours.

SPC Discussion:

DISCUSSION…A SOUTHEASTWARD MOVING CLUSTER OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE  TO SPREAD ACROSS PORTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL/SOUTH-CENTRAL AL THIS EVENING…WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF SEMI-DISCRETE SUPERCELLS AHEAD OF  THIS LIKELY EXPANDING/SUSTAINED LINEAR CLUSTER. WHILE A RELATIVELY MOIST LOW-LEVEL ENVIRONMENT AND MODEST SHEAR/SRH MAY SUPPORT SOME TORNADO THREAT INTO EARLY EVENING…THE PRIMARY HAZARD SHOULD BE  DAMAGING WINDS AND SOME SEVERE HAIL.
  

Isaac Williams
WVUA-TV Weather
Twitter: @WVUA_Isaac

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE…80 PERCENT
   
SUMMARY…SCTD TSTMS HAVE INCREASED IN NUMBER AND STRENGTH IN THE PAST HOUR OVER W CNTRL AL. OTHER STORMS MAY FORM A BIT LATER THIS  EVE WWD INTO E CNTRL MS. ENVIRONMENTAL SETUP APPEARS FAVORABLE FOR A  CONDITIONAL RISK OF SVR WEATHER…INCLUDING A COUPLE TORNADOES.
   

 DISCUSSION…DISCRETE TSTMS HAVE FORMED IN THE PAST HOUR ALONG A DEEP CONFLUENCE AXIS /PER AREA VWP AND STLT DATA/ EXTENDING WSW FROM NW AL INTO E CNTRL MS. THIS CONFLUENCE BAND APPEARS TO MARK THE WRN FRINGE OF A BAND OF ENHANCED SSWLY LOW-LVL FLOW /WITH SPEEDS OF 25-30 KTS/ OVER SE MS/WRN AL. OTHER TSTMS ARE FORMING ATTM ALONG THE ERN FRINGE OF THIS BAND OF ENHANCED FLOW OVER CNTRL AL…FROM S OF BHM TO W OF SELMA.
   
GIVEN RELATIVELY MOISTURE-RICH LOW-LVL ENVIRONMENT AND SOME DEGREE OF LARGE-SCALE ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH 35-40 WNWLY MID-LVL SPEED MAX NOW OVER ERN MS…ENVIRONMENT MAY YIELD A FEW SUSTAINED STORMS/WEAK SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF SVR HAIL…LOCALLY DMGG WIND…AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO. A WW IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR THIS REGION.

WVUA Chief Meteorologist Richard Scott

rscott@wvuatv.com

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
  CENTRAL BIBB COUNTY IN ALABAMA…
  NORTHEASTERN HALE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
  SOUTH CENTRAL TUSCALOOSA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…

* UNTIL 630 PM CDT

* AT 547 PM CDT…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL…AND DAMAGING
  WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR LOW GAP…
  OR 17 MILES SOUTH OF TUSCALOOSA…AND MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
  CENTREVILLE…LOW GAP…EOLINE…HAGLER…PEARSON AND HARMON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

FOR YOUR PROTECTION…MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF
YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER…
CALL 1-800-856-0758 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

LAT…LON 3315 8713 3295 8701 3293 8748 3303 8753
TIME…MOT…LOC 2247Z 256DEG 18KT 3298 8744

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR…
  CENTRAL PICKENS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…

* UNTIL 545 PM CDT

* AT 508 PM CDT…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM
  WAS LOCATED 6 MILES SOUTH OF ETHELSVILLE…OR 8 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  PICKENSVILLE…AND MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE…
  REFORM…OWENS AND NORTH PICKENS AIRPORT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

TAKE COVER NOW. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER…
CALL 1-800-856-0758 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

Good Friday afternoon! We’ve had some strong to severe storms form across north and central Alabama this afternoon. There has been a confirmed tornado touchdown near Athens, Alabama. The national weather service in Huntsville issued several tornado warnings with their storms. Across our part of west and central Alabama, storms have remained below severe limits as of 4pm. A storm or two may reach severe limits, but wind and hail will be the main risks.

Look for a good chance of showers and storms to continue this evening, as an upper level low moves close to north Alabama. Lift and instability across our area is really helping to kick off showers and storms. While all of west and central Alabama stands the risk of storms through midnight, the heavier rain will continue for areas near and north of I-20. Lows will drop into the middle 60s tonight.

Saturday will feature a partly sunny sky and the risk of scattered storms. The best chance of rain and storms on Saturday will occur for areas north and east of Birmingham. Keep the rain gear around on Saturday incase a storm moves over your area. The risk of rain on Saturday stands at 30%. If it rains at your house on Saturday, it won’t last longer than an hour. Sunday is looking even drier, with a good supply of sun and very warm temperatures. Highs will get close to 90 on Sunday. There is a 20% chance of a stray afternoon storm on Sunday.

An upper air ridge will bring lots of sun and very warm temperatures on Monday and Tuesday, as highs will reach the lower 90s. Lows continue to reach the upper or middle 60s each night. The next risk of rain will return on Wednesday and Thursday, as a cold front arrives.

If you are going to the Alabama Gulf Coast over the weekend for the Hangout Music Fest, I’ve got some good news. The event kicks off on Friday and lasts through Sunday. Expect lots of sun and dry weather through the entire weekend. Highs will warm into the lower 80s, with lows near 70. Water temperatures remain pretty cool, with lower 70s being reported.

Send us your weather pictures! Send them to weather@wvuatv.com. Also, look us up on facebook and twitter. Like us on facebook by searching facebook.com/wvuaweather or WVUA-TV Weather. You can find us on twitter by searching weather@wvuatv.comor WVUA-TV Weather. Great way to get weather updates! Plus, facebook is a great way to send us weather pictures. Simply tag us!

Join us live on WVUA-TV weekdays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 pm and weekends at 10pm for the very latest on your news, weather and sports.

Richard Scott

WVUA Chief Meteorologist

rscott@wvuatv.com

Twitter: Richard_wvua