Major Flooding Issues This Morning

| March 9, 2011 @ 6:05 am | 15 Replies

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BE VERY CAREFUL: Turn around, don’t drown. Heed that warning this morning as a major flood event continues to unfold across Alabama. As I write this, about two dozen counties across North-Central Alabama are under flash flood warnings… shortly before 6:00 a band of heavier storms extends from the Birmingham metro area south to near Selma, and we are getting numerous reports of flooding issues on roads, both in urban and rural areas. And, a number of crashes are now being reported on roads across the Birmingham metro as the band of heavy rain moves through.

Some quick rain totals from our Skywatchers…

Bessemer 2.52″
Greystone Cove 1.82″
Fayette 4.75″
Center Point 2.39″

NEXRAD data suggests parts of West Alabama have received over 5 inches of rain. Needless to say, flash flooding is a serious threat. And, river flooding is going to be an issue in coming days; flood warnings are up for much of the Cahaba (including the Birmingham metro segment), the Warrior, and the Tombigbee. See the latest flash flood and river flood warnings here.

SEVERE WEATHER? The greatest risk of severe weather will remain over South Alabama, generally south of U.S. 80 (Demopolis to Selma to Montgomery to Opelika). Winds could gust in toe 40-50 mph range over the northern counties with the band of heavier storms this morning, but there is no surface based instability. Over South Alabama, a few tornadoes are possible; Choctaw County is under a tornado warning as I write this shortly before 6:00.

REST OF THE DAY: The good news is that the rain will taper off throughout the morning from west to east as the heavier rain moves into Georgia. There will be a nice lull in the rain during the midday hours, but a band of showers and possible thunderstorms will form along the actual cold front this afternoon. This should be a narrow band of showers and storms, and severe weather for now isn’t expected, unless the sun breaks out at midday and we really warm up. All of the precipitation will be out of the state by 10:00 tonight.

RAW, COLD DAY TOMORROW: A very deep upper trough will move right over us tomorrow. The day will be cloudy with temperatures having a hard time getting out of the 30s over the northern third of the state. And yes, there will be a chance of light snow or snow flurries tomorrow morning mostly north of U.S. 278… or north of a line from Hamilton to Cullman to Gadsden. We all know we can have snow in March around here.

Down this way, the weather will be like Sunday. We might hover in the low 40s all day with a chilly north wind and a grey sky. It will feel more like the dead of winter.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: If the sky clears tomorrow night, we will be very close to freezing at daybreak Friday, but after that a nice warming trend begins, with a high around 60 Friday afternoon. The weekend looks great with mostly sunny conditions both days and a high in the 67-70 degree range.

NEXT WEEK: It is indeed spring break for many school systems across Alabama… watch the Weather Xtreme video for a day by day breakdown. Bottom line is that we will have a chance of showers Monday afternoon into Monday evening, but nothing really heavy and no severe weather threat. Then, another risk of showers will come at the end of the week… but Tuesday-Thursday should be a very comfortable period with lots of sun and a high in the low 70s.

FOLLOW ALONG: Here are our weather team Twitter accounts….

James Spann Jason Simpson Ashley Brand
J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters
Dr. Tim Coleman WeatherBrains Podcast E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

Stay tuned for updates on the flood situation through the morning… the next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day and STAY DRY…

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.

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