The 850 mb jet is really bringing the moisture northward over Alabama right now. 850 mb winds are 50 knots and increasing, and the dewpoints should continue to rise slowly over the next few hours. Wind shear is also high, with storm-relative helicites 300-500 over west Alabama.
However, instabilities have not developed as we thought they might so far, the models may have been right about that. It does look like the cold air over the Gulf late last week may have lowered dewpoints some, and 500 mb temperatures are warming slowly.
We’re not out of the woods yet, with temperatures still near 70 and dewpoints rising, and some tornado warnings issued recently near Jackson, MS. SPC has just issued a mesoscale discussion. They are considering a tornado watch for parts of southwest and west-central Alabama.
