Dry Days Ahead… Nice Weekend… Wednesday Forecast Update – 4:45pm

Good Wednesday afternoon! Our local weather started off cloudy then gradually became sunny from west to east today. Temperatures have warmed nicely into the 70s. After sunset, temperatures will drop quickly, with most areas well into the middle or upper 40s for lows. Skies will remain partly cloudy to mostly clear overnight tonight.

As for Thursday, look for a good supply of sun to start off the day, with highs in the lower 70s. High clouds will gradually spread in from the southwest late in the day on Thursday. Skies will remain partly sunny on Friday, with a high in the lower 70s. The clouds are in response to an upper air disturbance tracking across Alabama. There won’t be enough lift or moisture for rain in Alabama, so Friday should remain dry. Skies return to full sunshine for Saturday and Sunday. As ridging builds in from the west, temperatures will really begin to warm up over the weekend. Look for highs in the lower 80s on Saturday and Sunday.

Ridging continues to build in on Monday and Tuesday, with highs reaching the lower or middle 80s early next week. Overnight lows will slowly warm back into the middle 50s by Sunday night and Monday night, as moisture slowly returns to the area. There is no risk of rain in the forecast this week, weekend or next week, which will allow the ground to dry out a bit. Also, there are no signs of severe weather issues over the next 7 days…

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Tornado Surveys So Far… Many More to Come… Wednesday Update – 1:35pm

The National Weather Service has teams out that are looking at tornado damage from all across west and central Alabama. We will bring that information to you as it becomes available. So far, we have 2 storm surveys in for Jefferson County. There were 2 tornadoes found in Jefferson County, and the details are listed below. Understand, there may have been as many as 18 tornadoes across the area with this event, so it may take a few days to get the total list…

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
945 AM CDT WED APR 30 2014

…NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 04/28/14 TORNADO EVENT-UPDATE 5…
…UPDATED TO INCLUDE PLAN OF THE DAY AND COMPLETED SURVEYS THUS
FAR…

.OVERVIEW…

A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PROGRESSED SLOWLY EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA MONDAY NIGHT PRODUCING WIDESPREAD DAMAGE FROM STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND TORNADOES. THE HARDEST HIT AREAS ARE GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF I-20. WITH THE THREAT OF ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER PAST…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WILL CONTINUE SURVEYING DAMAGE. AT THIS TIME…STORM SURVEYS ARE BEING PLANNED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES TODAY:

TEAM ONE WILL FOCUS ON TUSCALOOSA COUNTY.

TEAM TWO WILL FOCUS ON LEE…MACON…AND RUSSELL COUNTIES.

TEAM THREE WILL FOCUS ON JEFFERSON COUNTY.

IN ADDITION…METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE JIM STEFKOVICH IS AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS IN THE KIMBERLY AREA (JEFFERSON COUNTY) BETWEEN 10 AM AND 1 PM TODAY (WEDNESDAY). IF THE MEDIA IS INTERESTED IN AN INTERVIEW…JIM CAN BE REACHED AT 205-585-8635.

ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED PERIODICALLY THROUGH THE DAY…AS SURVEYS TEAMS REPORT BACK THEIR FINDINGS.

.TORNADO 1…KIMBERLY TORNADO (JEFFERSON COUNTY)…

RATING:                 EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    100 MPH
PATH LENGTH/STATUTE/:   3.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH/MAXIMUM/:    800 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               4 MINOR

START DATE:             04/28/2014
START TIME:             1000 PM CDT
START LOCATION:         1 MILE WNW OF MORRIS
START LAT/LON:          33.7514/-86.8303

END DATE:               04/28/2014
END TIME:               1009 PM
END LOCATION:           2 MILES ENE OF KIMBERLY
END LAT/LON:            33.7897/-86.7952

SURVEY SUMMARY: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS SURVEYED DAMAGE IN NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY AND HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-1 TORNADO. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 100 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR INTERSTATE 65…ABOUT ONE-HALF MILE SOUTH OF SARDIS ROAD. THE TORNADO MOVED TO THE NORTHEAST AND CROSSED INTERSTATE 65…SNAPPING AND UPROOTING HUNDREDS OF TREES ALONG THE PATH. AS THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO THE NORTHEAST AND MOVED INTO THE CITY LIMITS OF KIMBERLY…SEVERAL STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED. IN KIMBERLY…A VACANT LARGE RETAIL BUILDING HAD ITS ROOF REMOVED. THE MOST EXTENSIVE DAMAGE OCCURRED TO THE KIMBERLY CHURCH OF GOD WHERE UPLIFT OF MOST OF THE ROOF STRUCTURE RESULTED IN EXTERIOR WALL COLLAPSE. THE TORNADO CROSSED STOUTS ROAD…WHERE THE KIMBERLY FIRE DEPARTMENT SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE. THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO SNAP. DOZENS OF TREES AS IT MOVED NORTHEAST…AND SEVERAL HOMES HAD SHINGLE DAMAGE. THE TORNADO LIFTED
JUST AS IT CROSSED BILL JONES ROAD.

.TORNADO 2…GRAYSVILLE TORNADO (JEFFERSON COUNTY)…

RATING:                 EF-2
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    115 MPH
PATH LENGTH/STATUTE/:   5.45 MILES
PATH WIDTH/MAXIMUM/:    1500 YARDS
FATALITIES:             0
INJURIES:               3 MINOR

START DATE:             04/28/2014
START TIME:             1013 PM
START LOCATION:         3 MILES SSW OF ADAMSVILLE
START LAT/LON:          33.5856/-87.0055

END DATE:               04/28/2014
END TIME:               1023 PM
END LOCATION:           2 MILES SSW OF BROOKSIDE
END LAT/LON:            33.6284/-86.9323

SURVEY SUMMARY: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS SURVEYED DAMAGE IN CENTRAL JEFFERSON COUNTY AND HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH AN EF-2 TORNADO. MAXIMUM WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 115 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR OAK LEAF CIRCLE. IT THEN TRAVELED TO THE NORTHEAST…SNAPPING AND UPROOTED DOZENS OF TREES ALONG ITS PATH. THE TORNADO INTENSIFIED AS IT NEARED CRUCE ROAD JUST SOUTH OF GRAYSVILLE. HERE…APPROXIMATELY FOUR MANUFACTURED HOMES SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE…WITH ONE BEING COMPLETELY DESTROYED AFTER IT ROLLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON ITS NORTHEAST PATH…SNAPPING AND UPROOTING HUNDREDS OF TREES. AS IT NEARED ADAMSVILLE PARKWAY…TWO BRICK HOMES SUSTAINED DAMAGE FROM PARTIAL EXTERIOR WALL COLLAPSE. ADDITIONALLY…ANOTHER MANUFACTURED HOME SUSTAINED DAMAGE. THE TORNADO TOOK A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN AS IT CROSSED INTERSTATE 22 NEAR CHERRY AVE …BEFORE LIFTING ALONG BROOKSIDE CARDIFF ROAD NEAR MCCAY RD.

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES.

EF0…WEAK……65 TO 85 MPH
EF1…WEAK……86 TO 110 MPH
EF2…STRONG….111 TO 135 MPH
EF3…STRONG….136 TO 165 MPH
EF4…VIOLENT…166 TO 200 MPH
EF5…VIOLENT…>200 MPH

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Severe Risk Over… Dry Days Ahead… Tuesday Night Forecast Update – 9:30pm

Good news! As of 9:30pm, there are no worries of severe weather issues for Alabama. A complex of storms has remained along the Alabama Gulf Coast all day today, which has blocked the inflow of unstable air into Alabama. If the complex of storms wasn’t there today, then we would have seen a repeat of Monday afternoon and Monday night. Fortunately, there is little to no instability across Alabama tonight, so you can rest easy. While there will still be a few noisy storms at times through the overnight hours, I don’t expect anything severe.

Temperatures will get a little cooler for Wednesday and Thursday, with highs in the lower 70s. You’ll notice some sunshine slowly making a return on Wednesday, but we should be out in full sunshine on Thursday. Temperatures at night will fall into the upper 40s Wednesday night and remain in the upper 40s each night through Friday night. Expect daytime temperatures in the lower 70s on Friday, with a partly sunny sky.

Sunshine returns again on Saturday and Sunday, with a high in the lower 80s. There is no risk of rain this weekend, so any outdoor activities should be just fine. Expect lows in the lower 50s over the weekend. Monday and Tuesday of next week will feature warmer weather, as highs reach the lower to middle 80s. Skies remain mostly sunny for Monday and Tuesday.

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Tornado Watch Cancelled (8:45P)

The tornado watch that was in effect for Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and surrounding areas has been cancelled. The severe weather threat has now ended. Showers and storms are still around but not severe…

Spinks Megginson
WVUA Weather

Severe Risk Low This Eve… Radar Update 8pm Tue

At 8pm Tuesday, the risk of severe weather is much lower. Areas along and south of I-59 are under a tornado watch til 10pm. Remain alert in these areas through 10pm, but understand, the risk is dropping. 

Fortunately, a complex of storms along the Gulf coast has blocked the inflow of very unstable air into the state, thus preventing a big severe weather risk today. While there is still a small chance of a spin-up tornado though 10 pm for areas south of I-59. After that, the risk completely ends, and there are no more severe weather risks over the next 7 days.

Richard Scott

WVUA Chief Meteorologist 

Severe Risk A Bit Lower… Watching Radar… Tuesday Update – 5:35pm

As of 5:35pm, the severe weather risk across Alabama seems a bit lower. The complex of storms that have hugged the coast much of the day has really kept the best instability from surging into our area. This is causing the storms to remain weak over west Alabama and east Mississippi. As we have discussed over the past few days, the severe risk would all depend on how much instability we get today. It really looks like the instability is too low for a big outbreak, which is great since what we dealt with yesterday and lastnight. We do note there is one tornado warning southwest of Jackson, MS, but instability is higher there.

We will continue to watch the storms over the next few hours, as there is still a tornado watch until 10pm. There is a chance of a tornado or two this evening. Storms may also produce damaging winds and hail. If heavy rain occurs over your area for an extended period of time, then the risk of flash flooding will exist.

Areas northwest of I-20 and west of I-65 are dealing with scattered thunderstorms at this hour. These storms will continue to track east to northeast at 40mph. Again, don’t let your guard down this evening, as there is still a risk of storms becoming strong to severe for the next few hours. These storms will move out of west Alabama before midnight tonight, then east Alabama shortly after. The good news… I don’t see any more severe weather risks for the rest of the week and weekend!

Remember: If you go under a tornado warning, get out of a mobile home or car! Find a site build structure and get in the lowest floor and in the middle of the home. A small room such as a closet is best. If you know someone with a basement or storm shelter, hang out with them this afternoon, evening and tonight.

If your area goes under a tornado warning, I’ll be on TV to let you know the latest. Make sure you have a source to wake you up incase a tornado warning is issued. A NOAA Weather Radio is a great tool to wake you up and alert you if a tornado approaches. You can then turn on the TV to WVUA, and we’ll be on there for the exact track and latest information.

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Storms Moving in to West AL; Not Severe Right Now

Storms are moving in to western Alabama right now. No doubt, there will be quite a bit of lightning with storms moving in to southern Lamar and Pickens County, but at this time, all storms are below severe limits.

A tornado watch continues for the entire central Alabama coverage area till 10:00PM.

Spinks Megginson
WVUA Weekend Weather Anchor

Tornado Watch: ALL of Central Alabama (3:55PM Tuesday Update)

     

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
     TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 118
     NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
     355 PM CDT TUE APR 29 2014
     
     TORNADO WATCH 118 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR THE
      FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     
     ALC007-009-015-019-021-033-043-049-055-057-059-063-065-071-073-
     075-077-079-083-089-091-093-095-103-105-107-115-117-119-121-125-
     127-133-300300-
     /O.NEW.KWNS.TO.A.0118.140429T2055Z-140430T0300Z/
     
     AL 
     .    ALABAMA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE
     
     BIBB                 BLOUNT              CALHOUN             
     CHEROKEE             CHILTON             COLBERT             
     CULLMAN              DEKALB              ETOWAH              
     FAYETTE              FRANKLIN            GREENE              
     HALE                 JACKSON             JEFFERSON           
     LAMAR                LAUDERDALE          LAWRENCE            
     LIMESTONE            MADISON             MARENGO             
     MARION               MARSHALL            MORGAN              
     PERRY                PICKENS             SHELBY              
     ST. CLAIR            SUMTER              TALLADEGA           
     TUSCALOOSA           WALKER              WINSTON

The risks include damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail and flash flooding. The risk will gradually end from west to east sometime near or after midnight tonight. The good news… I don’t see any signs of severe weather issues after this event for a while!

We are in question to how dangerous the weather will be across the state this evening or tonight, as there is a MCS or complex of storms hugging the coast of the Florida Panhandle. There is a chance this will help to limit the severe risk some for parts of central Alabama, but it’s too close of a call not to be severe weather alert this evening. The Storm Prediction Center has placed a large moderate risk for much of central and west Alabama, where the atmosphere is a little more unstable. But, if there is something out there to prevent another big event, that would be it. I just don’t think there is enough evidence of that to let your guard down. If the risk increases or decreases this afternoon and evening, I’ll let you know. At this point, remain alert this evening and tonight incase tornadic storms move your way.

Remember: If you go under a tornado warning, get out of a mobile home or car! Find a site build structure and get in the lowest floor and in the middle of the home. A small room such as a closet is best. If you know someone with a basement or storm shelter, hang out with them this afternoon, evening and tonight.

If your area goes under a tornado warning, I’ll be on TV to let you know the latest. Make sure you have a source to wake you up incase a tornado warning is issued. A NOAA Weather Radio is a great tool to wake you up and alert you if a tornado approaches. You can then turn on the TV to WVUA, and we’ll be on there for the exact track and latest information.

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Severe Weather Risk This Eve/Tonight… Tuesday Update – 3pm

Good Tuesday afternoon! So far, all is quiet across Alabama, with no severe weather issues for central or west Alabama. We’re watching supercells develop over central Mississippi as of 3pm, but the storms won’t reach our counties until after 4pm. The severe risk won’t reach the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham metro until sometime around 6pm to 9pm this evening and tonight.

The risks include damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail and flash flooding. The risk will gradually end from west to east sometime near or after midnight tonight. The good news… I don’t see any signs of severe weather issues after this event for a while!

We are in question to how dangerous the weather will be across the state this evening or tonight, as there is a MCS or complex of storms hugging the coast of the Florida Panhandle. There is a chance this will help to limit the severe risk some for parts of central Alabama, but it’s too close of a call not to be severe weather alert this evening. The Storm Prediction Center has placed a large moderate risk for much of central and west Alabama, where the atmosphere is a little more unstable. But, if there is something out there to prevent another big event, that would be it. I just don’t think there is enough evidence of that to let your guard down. If the risk increases or decreases this afternoon and evening, I’ll let you know. At this point, remain alert this evening and tonight incase tornadic storms move your way.

Remember: If you go under a tornado warning, get out of a mobile home or car! Find a site build structure and get in the lowest floor and in the middle of the home. A small room such as a closet is best. If you know someone with a basement or storm shelter, hang out with them this afternoon, evening and tonight.

If your area goes under a tornado warning, I’ll be on TV to let you know the latest. Make sure you have a source to wake you up incase a tornado warning is issued. A NOAA Weather Radio is a great tool to wake you up and alert you if a tornado approaches. You can then turn on the TV to WVUA, and we’ll be on there for the exact track and latest information.

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 5, 6 and 10:00 P.M. 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

Coverage Continues

Chief Meteorologist Richard Scott (@richard_wvua on Twitter), Spinks Megginson (@spinksm on Twitter), and the entire WVUA News and Weather Team are at WVUA-TV right now preparing for the potential for severe storms today. We will be interrupting programming for ANY tornado warning that is issued for any county in our Designated Market Area. Stay tuned as Alabama’s Home Team keeps you posted.