Alabama 811 | Know What's Below.

Heat Advisories Today, Severe Weather Tonight

| July 20, 2018 @ 5:15 am

An unusually dynamic storm system for mid-Summer will bring a significant severe weather threat to Alabama Friday night into early Saturday morning and again Saturday afternoon.

The unusually strong wind fields will yield not only a high danger of damaging winds but also a chance of tornadoes.

Strong mid and upper-level winds are developing this morning across the Rockies and Central Plains. These strong winds will spread around the base of a powerful upper trough over the Midwest. Meanwhile, a surface low will move from the Midwest toward the Great Lakes tonight. Storms will form this afternoon across Indiana and Kentucky and this evening across Tennessee and Arkansas.

A few storms could form this afternoon across southern Tennessee and move into North Alabama between 3-5 p.m. moving into the I-20 corridor and weakening by 7 p.m. These storms could be severe, with damaging winds possible. But the main threat will come late this evening and overnight for Alabama.

Plenty of instability will be present ahead of these storms and the strong mid and upper-level winds will allow them to become severe. There is a threat of tornadoes from western Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana this afternoon and evening. The tornado threat will diminish as the storms move into northern Mississippi and Northwest Alabama tonight, but we can’t rule out an isolated tornado late tonight in Alabama’s Tennessee Valley counties.

The main threat will be for widespread damaging winds. This main threat will be from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. You will need to have a way to receive warnings tonight, be that NOAA WeatherRadio, or an app like WeatherRadio by WDT. It will be important to take severe thunderstorm warnings seriously. Trees falling on homes, cars or people caught outside can kill.

More severe storms may form on Saturday afternoon if the atmosphere is able to recharge. Those storms could be severe with damaging winds and even tornadoes. Let’s get through the Friday night threat first and then we can focus on that more uncertain threat.

The SPC has a large part of Alabama under marginal, slight and enhanced risks for severe weather tonight and early Saturday. Here is the day one severe weather outlook:

Note there is a moderate risk back over Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Now first we will deal with high heat for today.

The NWS in Birmingham and the NWS in Huntsville have posted heat advisories for the western half of North and Central Alabama as well as South Central Alabama for this afternoon.

Temperatures will reach the lower and middle 90s with heat index values between 104-107F.

Take precautions if you will be outdoors today. Stay in airconditioning as much as possible Try to reschedule activities. Wear light-colored loose-fitting clothing. Drink plenty of water.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS

About the Author ()

Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorian

Comments are closed.