One fairly strong thunderstorm is moving from northern Bibb into southwestern Shelby County as of 2:20 AM. Some pea-sized hail has been reported with this storm in Tuscaloosa along Alabama Highway 69 south of town toward Taylorville.
Frequent lightning, heavy rain, and small hail (less than 3/4″ in diameter) are expected with this storm in places like Montevallo, Wilton, and Calera by 2:45 AM.
So why no watches in place? The atmosphere’s lowest levels down here near the ground are very stable. The storms are actually “elevated,” which means the updrafts are not based at the surface. Since we have this stable layer in place down here, it’s also likely protecting us from any significant winds that the storm might be producing. The main threat from storms this morning will be lightning and hail, but a moderate risk of severe weather has been outlined for central and southern Alabama from midday on. That’s when we expect the entire atmosphere to be unstable enough to produce strong or severe storms with wind, hail, and possibly some tornadoes.
James will have the weather xtreme video on later this morning, and I’ll have an update on the forecast coming up at 5 AM on Good Morning Alabama!
