At 517 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause urban and small stream flooding in the advisory area. 2 to 4 inches of rain have fallen over parts of the area throughout the day and another 1 to 3 inches are possible throughout the evening.
Heavy showers and thunderstorms increasing in coverage through the afternoon hours may lead to some instances of flash flooding as rainfall rates approach 2+ inches per hour where thunderstorms train over the same areas.
At 508 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Boyd to Alamucha, moving east at 85 mph.
At 448 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Myrtlewood, or 13 miles west of Linden, moving east at 55 mph.
At 437 PM CDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated that heavy rain was falling over the area. The heavy rain will cause flooding. 3 to 5 inches of rain have fallen throughout the day and an additional 1 to 3 inches is possible over the next few hours.
As of 4:20 pm, the warm front continues to have a hard time pushing to the north due to the rain-cooled air and outflow boundaries that are shunting that northward movement a little.
A TORNADO WATCH has been issued until 11:00 pm tonight for a good portion of the southern half of Central Alabama. Counties included in the watch are Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Russell, and Sumter.
At 3:48 pm, a strong thunderstorm capable of producing half-inch hail and winds in excess of 40 mph located over York, moving east at 45 mph.
At 317 PM CDT, Doppler radar and automated gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to three inches of rain have already fallen in the past 6 hours. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.
A LEVEL 4 MODERATE RISK through the rest of the day and into the early morning hours on Monday for locations along and south of a line from Union (Greene Co.) to Jemison (Chilton Co.) to Alexander City (Tallapoosa Co.).
The latest Mesoscale Discussion from the Storm Prediction Center is out and explains that a tornado watch will most likely be needed for parts of Central Alabama within the next few hours.
At 251 PM CDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause urban and small stream flooding in the advisory area. Up to three inches of rain have already fallen.
As of 2:43 pm, a strong thunderstorm with the potential of nickel size hail and winds in excess of 40 MPH was located over Tishabee, or 8 miles east of Livingston, moving to the northeast at 50 MPH.
We continue to monitor an unfolding severe weather situation across Alabama and the Deep South this afternoon. An outbreak of tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail is likely this afternoon and evening across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia.
Our long time friend, mentor, and charter Weather Factory member, J.B. Elliott, passed away on May 11, 2015. Click HERE to read James' tribute.
