Radar Notes at 11:20 a.m.

Heavy rain continues over Northwest Alabama at this hour, including much of Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Morgan, Madison and Winston Counties. This activity is ahead of the warm front that is slowly lifting northward. It is just north of I-20 at this hour.

There are two lines of storms. One extends from western Walker through northwestern Tuscaloosa Counties and on into Sumter and Choctaw Counties in West central Alabama. This activity was moving into Tuscaloosa and will reach Birmingham by noon or shortly thereafter. Intensifying storms over Sumter, Greene and Choctaw Counties will move into Hale, Perry and Bibb counties within the hour and reach Shelby County shortly thereafter.

A tornado warning was just issued for Washington County in Southwest Alabama by the NWS Mobile. This dangerous looking storm is moving into the best instability and will be approaching Millry in the next 30 minutes.

The other line is in eastern Mississippi, extending from Louisville MS to east of Philadelphia to west of Meridian to near Laurel. That line is along the cold front that will put an end to the activity later this afternoon.

Scattered showers are developing in the warmer air ahead of the main activity. Some are over Northeast Alabama between Fort Payne and Gadsden. Others are over South Central Alabama north of Montgomery.

The dewpoint at Birmingham has jumped from 49F at 3 a.m. this morning to the current reading of 64F. Dewpoints in the middle 60s are certainly supportive of severe weather. Some clearing was noted in visible satellite imagery west of Montgomery. Areas from Marengo and Clarke up through Dallas?perry/Wilcox and into Chilton/Autauga and Montgomery Counties will have to monitor developments in the next couple of hours as this area will be the most unstable.

Areas along and south of the warm front today will have a chance for severe weather.

The best chance will be in areas near and south of a line from Marengo County up through Chilton and into East Alabama around Clay and Randolph Counties.

A tornado watch continues until 5 p.m. for much of Alabama. We certainly don’t want to hype this event since it will not be ma jor severe weather day, but everyone should pay attention to the latest information and be ready to take action if a warning is issued.

Category: Alabama's Weather, Severe Weather