Today will be one of those days where you will want to keep a weather eye peeled during your various actviities. Severe weather is definitely possible, with the main threat coming from dfamaging winds. There could also be small hail. But lightning will be a big problem, as will very heavy rainfall.
Skies are clearing over much of northern Mississippi. This clearing seems to be working its way into Northwest Alabama. Dewpoints are high, in the upper 60s to near 70. Instability values are already pushing 1500 j/kg over northern Mississippi. Over North and Central Alabama, they are around 500 j/kg, but a little sunshine will send them soaring. The 7 a.m. balloon release from Jackson already showed a CAPE near 1400 j/kg and a lifted index of -7.6 That is some unstable air for early morning. In addition, there is very little CIN, or convective instability. This means that there will be nothing to really stop storm formation. Our cold front is just past Memphis. As it moves southeastward, it will help to focus storm development.
There is also a decent amount of general wind shear today, about 30 knots. This means that storms that do form today will be more organized than we have seen on past days, giving them a higher probability of sticking around longer to produce more severe weather.
There will likely be weather watches during the day, along with several warnings. So, stay close to a source of weather information and keep an eye to the sky today.
LATE NOTE FROM THE NWS….
000
NOUS44 KBMX 291332
PNSBMX
ALZ013-022-023-031-032-034-291530-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
832 AM CDT SUN JUN 29 2008
…TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA NOAA WEATHER RADIO OUTAGE…
NOAA WEATHER RADIO STATION KIA-60 SERVING THE TUSCALOOSA AREA
OF WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA IS OFF THE AIR. MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL
HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND REPAIRS WILL BE COMPLETED AS RAPIDLY AS
POSSIBLE
WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS OUTAGE MAY CAUSE AND
SUGGEST YOU TUNE TO LOCAL MEDIA FOR WEATHER INFORMATION.
$$
