NWS Birmingham has issued a FLASH FLOOD WATCH from 7:00 am this morning through 6:00 am Wednesday for a good portion of Central Alabama. Here is a list of counties covered by the watch: Autauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Lee, Perry, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties.
Several rounds of showers and storms will slide over portions of Central ahead of a cold front that will move through later tonight. Several locations within the watch have already received between 1/2 and 1 inch of rain so far since Midnight with an additional 1.5 to 2.5 inches expected over the next 18 to 24 hours. Locally higher totals will be possible along and south of the I-20 corridor.
And, to go along with the FLASH FLOOD WATCH we also have…
…a MARGINAL RISK for severe storms across nearly the entire Central Alabama area with the exception of the southeastern parts mainly south of I-85. The Storm Prediction Center forecast that isolated severe thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon and into the early evening hours across the area. The main threat will be from isolated damaging wind gusts up to 60 MPH, but there is also a non-zero threat of a brief tornado and small hail. Timing will be from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
We’ll have some instability build across the area as the temperatures begin to rise, and combine that with decent shear and adequate storm-relative helicity, there will be just enough for the potential of several weakly rotating updrafts that may spawn a brief tornado. Small to marginally severe hail will be possible as well, but the main threat may be isolated damaging winds up to 60 MPH. By the way, forecast highs for today will be in the mid-60s to the lower 70s across the area from northwest to southeast… close to 70 degrees for Birmingham.
Central Alabama Weather 