Flash Flood Potential

The National Weather Service in Birmingham and Huntsville have issued flash flood watches for much of Central and North Alabama through this evening.

The problem is two fold. First, we’ve had a lot of rain this month which has saturated the soil. Saturation of the soil means that any water that falls is likely to become runoff almost immediately. Second, a cold front will be moving across Alabama and the Southeast over the next 24-hours or so igniting showers and thunderstorms, some of them capable of producing large rain amounts in short periods of time.

Parts of West and Central Alabama have been primed even more. A small thunderstorm has moved roughly from Aliceville in Pickens County to Samantha in Tuscaloosa County to Adamsville in Jefferson County. This cluster has resulted in estimated rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches in a this path about 15 miles wide. So when the storms along the front reach this area, it will really be wet, wet, wet.

Nearly 75 percent of all flash flood deaths are automobile related, so if you have plans to be out and around today, please be careful and watch out for low spots where water may cover the road. Flowing water can be very dangerous. As the NWS notes, TADD – Turn Around Don’t Drown.

Stay tuned to the Blog today for the latest information on developing weather for Central Alabama.

By Tuesday of next week we will be in much cooler and drier air reminding us that Fall is HERE!!!

-Brian-

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