Early Morning Peek At Today’s Weather Situation

With so many out door events going on, here is a daybreak look at what we expect today…

RIGHT NOW: It is raining over the northwest corner of Alabama early this morning; part of a larger mass of rain and storms from Nashville over to the Mississippi Delta.

This rain is expected to slowly diminish in coming hours, but understand there will be a period of rain across about the northern third of Alabama this morning. The midday hours (11am to 3pm) should be mostly warm and dry, although a few widely scattered showers are possible.

Heavier storms will begin to form late this afternoon, and SPC maintains a “slight risk” of severe storms west of a line from Demopolis to Birmingham to Gadsden, with a “marginal risk” down to Gulf Shores, Andalusia, Troy, and Phenix City.

Storms late this afternoon and early tonight, in the 4pm to 9pm time frame, could produce small hail and strong, gusty winds. The tornado threat is very, very low.

ALABAMA A-DAY GAME: The heavier storms along the cold front, most likely, won’t reach Tuscaloosa until 5:00 p.m. or later, after the completion of the annual spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, which kicks off at 2:00.

However, a few scattered showers or storms are possible earlier in the day, and the high resolution HRRR model does hint at a shower passing near Tuscaloosa early in the afternoon. It is impossible to give specific locations and start/stop times of these random showers, so just be aware of the possibility.

Bottom line is that most of the game should be played with no rain, but we sure can’t rule out a brief, passing shower, so I would have some rain gear just in case one drifts over the stadium. Also, understand there could be a few strong to severe storms around after the game with potential for small hail and strong, gusty winds. As noted above, there is only a very low risk of a tornado this evening, thankfully.

The kickoff temperature should be close to 80 degrees. I will be at the KS Services tent with former Tide star and current Cincinnati Bengal Andre Smith from 11am until 12 noon… come see us if you are headed to the game.

Keep an eye on the blog for forecast updates today.

from The Alabama Weather Blog http://ift.tt/2q1wKKx