Brian and I are at Stratus station (Hamilton, AL) in the storm chaser, probably inspiring excitement or fear along Corridor X/US 78 between BHM and Hamilton. I like the yellow lights!
The development of scattered showers between 1 and 2 pm seemed to indicate that the cap was breaking and storms may intensify anytime, but the number of radar echoes in Alabama and even eastern Mississippi is low right now. The main dynamics, and storms, are near the Mississippi River, except for one rogue cell in central Mississippi 50 miles west of Columbus. Not sure…maybe the cap has been too much so far, in addition to the lack of any significant boundaries to focus development.
We’ll see what happens over the next hour or so…storms sometimes intensify as the boundary layer changes with sunset. Sometimes they don’t.
Either way, the main line will eventually move into extreme west Alabama after 10 pm, and it will bring with it the threat for damaging winds (in excess of 60 mph), hail, and tornadoes to much of the state, especially west of I-65. Don’t let the quiet weather so far today let you relax. Keep a source of weather information handy through the night.
