Strong Storms to Our West Will Weaken Before They Get Here

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ROUND ONE: The first round of showers is moving out of East Alabama and into Georgia this afternoon. There were some decent rainfall amounts over West Alabama, but the system weakened as it moved into drier air after lunch. Some one inch amounts probably fell over parts of Sumter, Greene and Hale Counties. In Northeast Alabama, northern Etowah and DeKalb Counties may have seen similar amounts. Totals look like this: 0.37 inches fell at the Birmingham Airport, while 0.73 inches fell at the Shelby County Airport. Tuscaloosa picked up 0.39 inches. Wallace Williams in Cottondale got 0.61 inches and Vic Bell in Black Creek had 0.59 inches.

LOOKING WEST: Things have gotten a little more interesting to the west as another upper level disturbance swings out of the Plains States. It was triggering strong to severe thunderstorms over Arkansas and Texas. The SPC has outlooked parts of western Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, northwestern Louisiana, northeastern Texas and much of Arkansas for a standard risk of severe weather into the evening hours. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and much of Arkansas. Warnings were posted for counties in Arkansas and Texas by early afternoon.

DON’T WORRY: Before you get nervous, I am confident these storms will weaken before they get into Alabama tonight. They will reach the Mississippi River between 6-7 p.m., and will start to disintegrate and reach eastern Mississippi by 9-10 p.m. There could be a weakening storm and a few showers over Central Alabama after midnight, but severe weather isn’t expected. Still, you can bet we will be watching the activity closely for you.

Category: Alabama's Weather