TALLADEGA RACEWAY
At noon, there were no showers in the immediate vicinity of the Talladega Raceway where NASCAR races will start early this afternoon. There were some showers moving into SW Clay County that may come close to the track, but probably to the east. From Talladega, there were no showers westward across the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa areas, so a good part of North/Central and Central Alabama was free of showers. It will probably be touch and go whether the entire race can be run under dry conditions.
THE REST OF THE STORY
Showers and thunderstorms will be prominent in the Alabama weather picture later today and tonight. As the afternoon goes on, they will increase in number and the most numerous ones will probably be tonight. At 12:00 noon, there were some moderate to heavy showers over extreme NW Alabama and some heavy showers, along with some thunderstorms, were spreading inland into coastal Alabama and NW Florida. Some very heavy rain was just off the Mobile area. Not much lightning around the state so far.
TO THE WEST OF ALABAMA
Thunderstorms were increasing over SE Arkansas and off the Louisiana coast. These will be increasing and spreading toward the NE. Also showers were becoming more numerous over the north one-third of Mississippi. The Storm Prediction Center removed the slight risk area from Alabama. Their updated assessment issued at 11:28 late this morning limits the slight risk area to extreme South Texas. They even removed it from SE Texas and coastal Louisiana. No part of Alabama is included. Tomorrow the slight risk area shifts to the east coast, mainly from the Carolinas northward through Virginia and Maryland to the Philadelphia area.
A NOTE OF CAUTION
Even though we are not officially mentioned as a severe weather risk, there could always be a few storms that reach severe limits. Probably the better chance of that will be roughly along and south of I-20 from midafternoon through part of tonight.
