James Spann: Windy, stormy in Alabama tonight; dry, cooler on Friday
TORNADO WATCH: A Tornado Watch is in effect for areas north and west of Birmingham through 8 tonight. Radar shows a band of strong storms pushing into west Alabama at mid-afternoon.
Storms this evening will be capable of producing hail, strong winds and a few isolated tornadoes. Also, pressure-gradient winds (not related to thunderstorms) could gust to 40 mph in spots. The highest risk of a tornado is in the current Tornado Watch area. Storms should weaken slowly later tonight as they move into east Alabama, where the air is more stable.
Be sure you have a way of hearing warnings tonight as the storms move through and have a plan to keep you and your family safe in the event we see storms reaching severe limits. This type of event is fairly common for February in Alabama; our tornado season here runs from November through May.
FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: The sky becomes partly to mostly sunny Friday and the day will be much cooler, with a high between 48 and 52 degrees. Over the weekend, look for sunny days with a high in the upper 50s Saturday, followed by mid 60s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: Much of the week looks wet. Moist air returns Monday with occasional showers, and there will be some risk of rain at times daily through at least Thursday. We could see a few thunderstorms along the way, but at the moment we aren’t seeing any major severe-weather signals in modeling. The week will be mild, with highs in the 60s and low 70s.
ON THIS DATE IN 1926: A deadly avalanche, Utah’s worst, demolished 14 miners’ cottages and a three-story boarding house in Bingham Canyon. Thirty-six were killed and 13 injured.
ON THIS DATE IN 2008: Thirteen tornadoes touched down across the southeast half of Alabama, including an EF-3 that moved through Prattville, injuring at least 50 people. That twister moved across U.S. Highway 82, U.S. Highway 31 and Cobbs Ford Road; an estimated 200 homes and 40 businesses were damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of trees were either snapped off or were uprooted along the path.
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