West Alabama Upgraded to Enhanced Risk of Severe Weather

Over the past few days, the Townsquare Media Weather Center has kept a watchful eye for the potential of a mid-week severe weather threat. The concern is within two areas: the potential for flooding and severe weather.

Flooding Overall Outlook

James Spann, ABC 33/40, and Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa Chief Meteorologist, said the “Rain becomes even more widespread, especially tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night.”

There is the possibility that rainfall amounts could reach 3 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals. In addition, there is the potential for flooding and flash flooding, where the heaviest rainfall occurs.

Comprehensive Outlook on Severe Weather Conditions

Risk Areas

One noticeable change in the outlook is that the “Enhanced Risk of severe storms has been added across western and southwestern counties, and the Slight Risk for severe storms has been expanded farther east, covering almost the remainder of Central Alabama,” said the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

Bibb - Enhanced Risk

Fayette – split between Enhanced Risk and Slight Risk

Greene - Enhanced Risk

Hale - Enhanced Risk

Lamar – split between Enhanced Risk and Slight Risk

Perry - Enhanced Risk

Pickens - Enhanced Risk

Sumter - Enhanced Risk

Tuscaloosa - Enhanced Risk

Walker – Slight Risk

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Thoughts on Timing

The current outlook on the severe weather threat timing is Wednesday between 1 p.m. and Midnight. However, our counties are split between the 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. time zones for the Townsquare Media Coverage Area.

As always, I would like to stress that our severe weather threat is part of a larger system tracking over several states. Hence, as weather conditions change, this could impact the arrival of severe weather to Alabama.

National Weather Service | Canva

Probable Threats

Damaging winds up to 70mph

Tornadoes

Quarter size hail

Spann said, “This is a very dynamic weather system but with poor thermodynamic fields. Basically, there is very little surface-based instability. A large, rain-cooled airmass should limit the overall severe weather threat for Alabama.”

However, it is April, and we will watch this system closely.

Also, there is a good chance that outside of the thunderstorms, our area could experience gradient winds expected to gust up to 40mph Wednesday night through early Thursday morning.

Additional Thoughts

Currently, the National Weather Service in Birmingham said that “many uncertainties still exist in terms of how the event will actually evolve. However, due to the very dynamic nature of the storm system with deep Gulf of Mexico moisture expected to be in place, the likelihood of severe storms and flooding remains in the forecast.”