Here is an update on the Alabama weather situation on this Sunday morning…
A solid line of showers and some embedded storms has sagged down into Northwest Alabama…it extends down from Limestone and Lawrence Counties through Winston, Marion and into Lamar County then westward into Mississippi.
An arc of occasionally heavy showers is lifting northeastward through Northeast and East Central Alabama, from north of Gadsden down the eastern side of the state to between Montgomery and Auburn.
More showers and storms are between Montgomery and Evergreen along I-65.
New showers were developing across Shelby and Bibb Counties, lifting into Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties.
The low pressure center is near Vicksburg, Mississippi, moving NNE. It is getting breezier over Alabama. Winds are out of the south at 10-20 mph occasionally gusting over 20 mph. Decatur recorded a wind gust to 31 mph before 9 a.m. Temperatures were in the 60s.
The dewpoint had surged to 65F at Tuscaloosa, a key threshold for moisture values for storms. At 9 a.m. the dewpoint at Birmingham was 59F. The richer moisture is expected to reach the I-59 corridor all the way to NE Alabama. Meanwhile, a cold front over Mississippi is pushing our way. Instability levels are still very low, but are expected to become marginal later this morning into this afternoon. Shear values are very high however, and this may allow thunderstorms that do form ahead of the main line to rotate and become severe later this mornign and into the afternoon.
The SPC has the area from Centre to Birmingham to Clanton to Lanett and into Georgia under a Slight Risk Outlook for today for severe weather. They have a 5% probability that a tornado will occur within 25 miles of a point in that area and a 15% probability that there will be a severe wind event (58 mph or greater) within 25 miles of any point in that same area.
While widespread severe weather is not expected, you will want to stay close to a reliable source of weather information through the day until the squall line passes.
