Overall, the storms have weakened some over central Alabama in the past hour, as they have moved more toward a squall line structure. At 530 am, a line of strong to severe storms extends roughly along a Scottsboro…Arab…Blountsville…Jasper…Tuscaloosa line, moving slowly east. The only 2 tornado warnings are for a storm moving into Perry, Dallas, and Chilton counties, and for a storm near Lake Guntersville moving into Jackson county.
The air over the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa areas is still unstable, and the wind shear is still high. So, high winds and isolated tornadoes are still possible over the next few hours, and a tornado watch is in effect until 10 am. Some of the storms near the Warrior River in eastern Walker county show a little bit of shear/rotation, so they will need to be watched. But, overall, the storms have weakened some. Let’s hope they don’t flare up again like they did around 1 am.
A big deal will be the heavy rainfall in Birmingham for the morning rush hour. These storms may not move completely out of here until after 730 am. If you can go to work a little late, do so. If not, drive safely. Leave extra room between you and the car in front of you, use your headlights, and keep your speed lower than normal.
There have been several reports of tornadoes in western Alabama, but so far no reports of fatalities to my knowledge. We’ll know more later today. But, it looks like we may have been fortunate here in Alabama in that the storms came through late at night, when the air was a little cooler, and the low pressure center was a little farther north. Things were a lot worse in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
And, on the upside in Alabama, we are getting beneficial rain! These rain events are slowly eroding the drought, and lake levels are rising.
