Saturday’s Weather Xtreme: Potential For Severe Storms Late Night Tonight Into Sunday

SATURDAY
A stalled-out cold front will begin to work its way northward as a warm front during the afternoon hours and will help push any shower and thunderstorm activity in Central Alabama out of the area and up into Tennessee by noon today. After that, we’ll have a lull in the activity as we wait for the low out to our west to move closer to the area. While a few isolated showers or thunderstorms may be possible during the afternoon and evening hours, the main action will not move into the western parts of Central Alabama until the very late night hours tonight and into the overnight hours. Highs will be in the mid-70s to the mid-80s.

SUNDAY
A line of strong to severe storms will move into the western parts of Central Alabama starting as early as midnight and will progress across the area throughout the overnight and into the early morning hours on Sunday, reaching the Birmingham metropolitan area by 4:00 am, and into the Gadsden/Anniston area around an hour later. The line looks to be out of here by noon on Sunday leaving some scattered showers and thunderstorms along the cold front as it moves through during the afternoon hours.

The Storm Prediction Center has the western two-thirds in risks for severe storms for later tonight and through the overnight hours until 7:00 am Sunday, then nearly all of Central Alabama in risks for severe storms from 7:00 am Sunday through the afternoon hours.

As of 7:00 am this morning, locations along and west of a line from Sulligent to Gordo to Eutaw are in an Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) for tonight and into the overnight hours. A Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) is up for locations east of that to a line from Arley to Hueytown to Selma. A Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5 ) stretches out to a line from Attalla to Talladega to Pike Road.

On Sunday, the Enhanced Risk has been defined for locations east of a line from Attalla to Talladega to Wedowee. A Slight Risk is up for locations east of a line from Double Springs to West Blocton to Orrville. A Marginal Risk is up for the rest of the area with the exception of locations west of a line from Aliceville to Demopolis.

The main window of strong to severe storms will be from 12:00 am through 1:00 pm across Central Alabama. To break it down, that will be from 12:00 am to 6:00 am for the western third of the area, including Hamilton, Tuscaloosa, Demopolis, Jasper, Fayette, Double Springs, and Eutaw… from 4:00 am to 8:00 am for locations in the central third of the area, including Birmingham, Oneonta, Gadsden, Clanton, Selma, Alabaster, and Talladega… and from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm for the eastern third of the area, including Anniston, Heflin, Alexander City, Auburn, Montgomery, Troy, and Eufaula.

Tornadoes and damaging winds up to and over 60 MPH will be the main threat with these storms, with large hail of one-inch in diameter being a smaller threat across all of Central Alabama.

Once the cold front moves through, skies will begin to clear out quickly and Sunday night will be clear. Highs top out in the lower 70s to the lower 80s.

CALL TO ACTION
If you do not have a weather emergency supply kit ready to go, now is the time to make one. Have a safety plan ready to act if your location goes under a warning, and talk it over with family members to make sure they know what to do. Never rely on sirens for your source of receiving warnings. Enable the WEAs (Wireless Emergency Alerts) on your cellphones, or download the FEMA app from the app store. You can set up your location and receive only the warnings you want to hear. Have an NOAA WeatherRadio for the home. Download the ABC 33/40 app on your mobile device so you can watch live tornado coverage from your safe place if you go under a warning. Check on your neighbors and the elderly and make sure they know about the threat for severe storms. Be sure they have a place of safety and supplies they would need to get through.

MONDAY
On Monday, our system that brought us our severe weather threat for this weekend is well off of the Atlantic coast as high pressure begins to build over the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. We’ll have plenty of sunshine with cooler temperatures, only reaching the upper 60s to the lower 70s for the afternoon highs, with morning lows starting off in the 40s.

TUESDAY
Very nice and much warmer on Tuesday as that high will be located on the North Carolina coast, sending warmer air up from the south. We’ll have sunny skies with highs topping out in the mid-70s to the lower 80s, with morning lows starting off in the mid to upper 40s.

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday will start off with a mix of sun and clouds, but those clouds will be increasing throughout the day as our next system starts to gather strength out west. We could see a few showers over the northwestern parts of the area before midnight, but we should stay dry through the day. Highs will be in the mid-70s to the lower 80s.

THURSDAY
Another dynamic system will bring the potential for strong to severe storms on Thursday as a strong 983mb low will be stationed over the KS/MO border at midday. At this point, the models show plenty of instability and shear in place, but we’ll have to get through tonight’s threat before we can focus on this system. Highs will be in the mid-70s to the lower 80s.

FRIDAY
The system will begin to depart from Central Alabama during the morning hours on Friday with rain ending before the noon hour. Skies will begin to clear soon after and highs will only reach the upper 60s to the mid-70s.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER
Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region that you are interested in.

CONNECT WITH THE BLOG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
You can find the AlabamaWx Weather Blog on the major social media networks:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Severe Weather, Weather Xtreme Videos