Early Afternoon Look at Alabama Weather

Storms downstream from Birmingham…
Storms upstream from Birmingham….

Radar from BMX shows a line of storms from just south of Cartersville GA to north of Carrollton GA to north of Wedowee in Randolph County to near Ashland. There they become scattered over much of Talladega, eastern Shelby and northern Coosa County.

They are moving to the east northeast.

To the west, radar from Columbus MS shows a large area of rain and storms moving east over Northeast Mississippi. The strongest storms were near Pontotoc, approaching Tupelo and just east of Booneville. Storms were intensifying quickly west of Amory. Development was occurring along the southern flank as far south as Winona in Central Mississippi.

This activity is moving east northeast at about 30 mph. It will affect Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin Counties within the hour…western Marion County between 3 and 3:30…and Lamar and Pickens Counties around 4 or 4:30.

If the activity holds together, and I think it will only get stronger, it would reach the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham areas around 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The airmass over West Central Alabama will only get more unstable as we go through the afternoon and there is good inflow evident ahead of the line, as seen in the developing storms west of Columbus.

I think there will be some impressive cell mergers around Columbus MS later that will lead to some intense rainfall, This rainfall could affect parts of Lamar and Marion county later.

Lots of outdoor activities today and Sunday. With thunderstorms lurking, keep and eye to the sky and have a place to take shelter from the lightning, hail and strong gusty winds that could develop.

A closed hard top automobile provides decent protection from lightning. An enclosed home or building is better. Don’t let lightning catch you outside.

Be alert for flooding that can develop quickly when very heavy rain occurs.

Severe weather is possible through the evening hours and again on Sunday. Make sure you have a way to monitor the weather this weekend.

Category: Uncategorized