Cloudy conditions prevail across Alabama late this morning. There were still a few peeks of sunshine across Northeast Alabama, but even those will close up shortly.
Winds will be picking up as we go through the afternoon hours and it will be windy tonight across the area.
Our upper level low pressure system is back over the Texas Panhandle. The surface low is between Little Rock and Memphis, moving northeast.
Showers and thunderstorms cover much of the state of Mississippi at this hour. They are slowly edging east into Marion, Lamar and Pickens Counties. This activity will be spreading across the state through the afternoon hours.
Heavy rainfall amounts will be associated with the system, with average amounts between one and two inches. There could be some three inch amounts. While flooding issues are not expected, it will be a situation that will need to be monitored.
Severe weather will be limited to the Gulf Coastal areas of Alabama. A tornado watch is in effect until 2 p.m. for Mobile and Baldwin Counties. No tornado warnings were in effect as of 11:30. There were a few flash flood warnings and a severe thunderstorm warning over southern Parishes of Louisiana.
So…rainfall should reach the Birmingham area by late afternoon and continue through much of the night.
The rain will be gone by lunch time tomorrow. New Years Eve celebrations look like they will be ok weather wise. It will be cooler, with lows in the lower 40s. There will be some clearing tomorrow night, followed by the development of widespread fog and low clouds, so you will want to be careful if you are driving late on New Years Eve.
