Two long lines of thunderstorms, oriented north to south, were moviong east across Alabama early on this Tuesday morning. They are affecting a large enough area that literally thousands of people probably were awakened by the lightning and loud thunder this morning. The two lines of storms were moving eastward.
The lead line of storms extended from Cherokee in Etowah County, including the Gadsden area, southward through Western Calhoun County then down through Talladega County, Eastern Coosa County across the city of Montgomery into South Montgomery County.
The second line, not far behind the first, comes out of Etowah County through St. Clair County, down across Shelby County and down I-65 through Chilton County to west of Andalusia in Covington County.
A number of reports of hail in those storms and vivid lightning. Some of the hail in St. Clair County was reported as marble size and nearly covering the ground. We don’t have any reports of damaging winds.
Lightning has apparently knocked landline telephone service out in the NE part of Trussville where we live.
Over on the west side of the state, some individual thunderstorms were in East and NE Pickens County from about Gordo northward. These also were moving eastward generally along U.S. 82. They will move into NW Tuscaloosa County later. Still other moderate to heavy showers were just west of the Mississippi border west of Alabama’s Lamar County looking for a welcome sign to move into Alabama.
NWS has issued a number of Special Weather Statements (Significant Weather Alerts) for these storms this morning. Those special weather statements fall short of a formal Severe Thunderstorm Warning.
BIRMINGHAM MORNING RUSH HOUR
It appears that most of the heavier rain has now shifted east of the city. If you are driving up from Chilton and Shelby Counties toward Birmingham, you will encounter some heavy showers in those two counties, but overall the immediate Birmingham weather is improving.
