Severe Weather/Flood Threat Ahead For Alabama

THIS AFTERNOON: Rain and storms are in progress across much of Alabama this afternoon, but the severe weather threat today and tonight is west of our state. The rain will diminish across Alabama over the next few hours. But, stronger storms behind the main band are producing some small hail over West Alabama.

THE DAYS AHEAD: In the latest convective outlook for tomorrow, the Storm Prediction Center maintains an enhanced “moderate risk” of severe weather for North and West Alabama, with the standard “slight risk” up for much of the rest of the state.

A batch of storms, “round one”, will enter West Alabama tomorrow morning… with a marginal threat of hail and strong winds; these storms will moving away from the main dynamic support and they should be weakening. But, we will still watch them closely…

The primary threat, “round two”, will come late tomorrow, tomorrow night, and early Tuesday, followed by a possible “round three” Tuesday afternoon, which is not a certainty. Here is the projected timeline of the events from the NWS in Birmingham:

“Round two” could begin as early as 4:00 tomorrow afternoon…

FLOODING: Rain amounts of around five inches are expected over a good part of North Alabama, and flash flooding is a very real possibility.

CALL TO ACTION: As part of your severe plan, you need to be able to hear warnings, know where you are going as a place of safety in the event you are in a tornado warning polygon, and have a readiness kit in that safe place.

GETTING THE WARNING: You should have multiple layers of getting tornado warnings. A NOAA Weather Radio is the baseline; you can buy them at places like Publix and Academy Sports for about 30 dollars. We have spent many weeks on the road programming them at our events, but you can program them yourselves… it isn’t too difficult.

The Birmingham transmitter is operating at reduced capacity for about one week… if you live in the Birmingham metro are not getting the test warnings, you will need to go the the next way of getting warnings. Understand this impacts the Birmingham metro only, NOT any other part of Alabama.

There are very few weather apps that provide reliable, timely warnings through push notifications. Very few. The two we recommend are MyWarn, and iMap WeatherRadio. Both are available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. You can also watch ABC 33/40’s long form tornado coverage through those apps.

If you still have a home phone, WeatherCall is a good option.

Sirens are a last resort for a small number of people that are outdoors. You will not be able to hear a siren in most homes, businesses, churches, and schools. The “siren mentality” has killed so many people in our state.

Never totally rely on social media for warnings. I use it heavily, but remember Facebook filters what you see in your timeline… much of what I post there you won’t see unless you come over to my profile. There is no filtering on Google Plus or Twitter, but with all the traffic it is easy to miss warnings.

ON THE RADIO: In the event we go into continuous tornado coverage on ABC 33/40 in coming days, these are the radio stations that usually carry our audio…

Birmingham
WZZK 104.7
WEZZ 97.3
WBHK 98.7

Tuscaloosa
WBEI 101.7
WTUG 92.9
WFFN 95.3
WDGM 99.1

Gadsden
WGMZ 93.1

Anniston
WTDR 92.7

SAFE PLACE: You should know the rules… small room, lowest floor, near the center of the house, and away from windows. You have to leave mobile homes for a substantial shelter or building. No vehicles. Identify the same place and be sure your kids know.

READINESS KIT: In that kit you need helmets for everyone in your family. Bicycle helmets, batting helmets, etc. We have had much loss of life due to head injuries in tornadoes in Alabama. Also, hard sole shoes, whistles or air horns for everyone (paramedics can find you if you need help via the sound they generate), etc. See more ideas here.

We will have frequent updates here on the blog as the event gets closer, so stay tuned…

Tags: severe outbreak

Category: Alabama's Weather