Here is the latest…
No severe weather warnings are in effect for any part of Alabama or Mississippi at this hour.
Storms are entering West Alabama from Colbert and Lauderdale Counties southward through Franklin to Marion County.
The strongest storms are just entering western Franklin and Marion from near Red Bay to northwest of Hamilton. They will affect areas near to north of Hamilton over the next hour.
Other strong storms near Aberdeen MS will affect Marion and northern Lamar Counties including Hamilton with in the hour.
Strong storms near Columbus MS will affect much of Lamar County including Vernon also.
Additional storms over Kemper and Noxubee Counties in Mississippi will affect Pickens and Tuscaloosa Counties later. A tornado warning was just issued for Lowndes and Noxubee Counties in eastern Mississippi. It includes Columbus. This cell will target Lamar County in less than an hour.
They are just ahead of a slow moving cold front that will move across the area tonight.
Ahead of the main line, individual cells have popped up over northern Fayette/southeastern Marion County and over Tuscaloosa County.
The Fayette County storm is about to cross US-78 between Winfield and Eldridge. It will move across SE Marion and into western Winston County, passing near Natural Bridge and Lynn.
Behind the main line, a large area of moderate to heavy rain covers the western half of Mississippi. This rain will overspread Alabama later this evening.
The leading activity is only translating east at about 15-20 mph as individual cells move north northeast.
No warnings now, but a tornado watch remains in effect until 7 p.m. Lots of spin in the atmosphere, so don’t be surprised to see a couple of more warnings. Be alert just in case.
Here is a rough timeline…
…Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Pickens, Sumter and western Greene Counties through 5:30 p.m.
…Winston, Walker, Tuscaloosa and Hale Counties between 5:30-7 p.m.
…Cullman, Jefferson, Bibb and Shelby Counties between 7-830 p.m.
…areas east of there after 8:30 p.m.
There will be a short break, then an a period of rain that will last for 3-4 hours later.
I am beginning to be encouraged that the rain could move out by mid morning tomorrow. This could be great news for the Magic City Classic events and race at Talladega tomorrow. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
