WEATHER ALERT for Saturday’s threat of severe weather

The old cold front will retreat north as a warm front today. This will keep us warm and humid with only a few showers or thunderstorms. Severe weather is not expected today, but a few of the storms could produce brief heavy rain. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s

Tonight, will be mostly cloudy and muggy with a few stray showers. Some patchy fog is possible. Lows will be in the 60s.

Weekend Forecast: The severe weather threat returns on Saturday as the warm front moves into Tennessee and a strong cold front moves across Alabama. At the same time, and area of low pressure will develop along the cold front. There is a Level 3/5 Enhanced Risk for severe weather. The main threat will be strong winds, but a few tornadoes can’t be ruled out. We have issued a Weather ALERT for Saturday.

We will start the day with a mostly cloudy sky and just a few stray showers. Temperatures will warm into the 70s.

During the afternoon, we will have record high temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s, and the atmosphere will become unstable. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop across northwest Alabama and move southeast toward Birmingham. These storms could be strong to possibly severe with damaging winds and a few tornadoes.

The bulk of the storms will move across central Alabama in the evening hours. These storms are expected to be strong to severe with possible damaging winds and a few tornadoes. Heavy rain is also expected, and we could pick up 1-2″+. This could lead to some flash flooding since the ground is already saturated. This is the time you really need to stay Weather Alert!

The severe weather threat will continue Saturday night into Sunday morning as the cold front moves through with a squall line. Again, a few of the storms could be severe. It will turn breezy and colder with temperatures falling into the 40s.

Make sure you have a way to get weather warnings either through a weather radio or alerts on your phone. Remember to turn on the phone alerts today so you are prepared for tomorrow. Have a plan to go to your safe place in your home – your helmets, flashlight and shoes should be located there too. Plus, keep it tuned to CBS 42 for weather updates.

Sunday will be a MUCH COLDER, breezy, and wet day in the wake of the cold front. The severe weather threat will be over, but we will have some lingering showers. It is possible that some of the rain will mix with sleet or some flurries. No accumulation is expected since the ground is very warm. High temperatures in the 50s will occur in the morning, and the temperatures will fall to the 30s during the afternoon. The winds will make it feel even colder. Any rain/sleet/flurries will end by Monday morning. We will be cold and breezy with low temperatures in the 20s.

Next Week Outlook: We start the new week cold as an area of high pressure builds east across the Southeast U.S. Monday will be sunny with high temperatures only in the 40s. Monday night will be clear and cold with lows in the 20s again. The area of high pressure will move east of Alabama on Tuesday, and this will slowly bring back southerly winds. We will be mostly sunny and a tad warmer with highs in the 50s. The southerly winds will be back for the rest of the week. We will be partly cloudy Wednesday with highs back around 60. Another cold front will move toward us on Thursday and Friday. Rain will return each day with highs in the lower 60s.