LATE UPDATE AT 6:05 AM
* As of 5:48 amFoley reports 3.20 inches of rain
* Road blocks being set up in the Gulf Shores area
It is 5:30 am and lots of people still snoozing and sneezing, but here is a quick pre-dawn look at our weather. James will have an extended discussion here between 6 and 6:30.
* NWS in Mobile has a Flash Flood Warning for SE Baldwin County on the Alabama Coast and for South Central Escambia County in NW Florida until 6:30. Estimates are that as much as 4 inches of rain has already occurred since midnight from near Perdido westward to Gulf Shores. Thunderstorms are forming offshore and moving inland.
Earlier, there was a Tornado Warning for South Central Baldwin County.
At 5:30 am showers were more numerous over Mobile and Baldwin County. Elsewhere in Alabama, there was a cluster of lighter showers from Cullman County west to marion County in North Central and NW Alabama. There was also a cluster of heavier showers over East Central Mississippi.
But the main event was still off to our west. Showers and thunderstorms were prominent from East Arkansas down across NW Louisiana into East Texas. A line of strong storms was approaching the Memphis area and Extreme NW Mississippi.
Movement of all these storm generally east and NE.
Despite all this, the Storm Prediction Center does not have any area outlined for a slight risk today and that is a good thing. This does not mean that we could not have a few mean ones and we will watch.
Looks like a good rain event in Alabama, especially later today, tonight and into Wednesday. That is a good thing.
We will have lots of updates in the next 24 to 36 hours and that is a good thing because it means we will relish some much needed rain.
