Archive for the ‘Hail/wind’ Category

Some storms this afternoon have become quite strong dropping some heavy rain, hail, and gusty winds in there wake.  The strongest storms will remain west of I-65 this afternoon and will begin to die off in a matter of an hour or two.  Remember, we are in the summer like pattern which means we won’t deal with the threat of tornadic activity due to weak upper level winds for several months unless we are impacted with a landfalling tropical system….which doesn’t seem likely any time soon.  Have a great Friday and enjoy some rainfall.

Well, there are a few parameters that support an increasing threat of damaging winds coming into the state later on Monday afternoon and evening as the cold front begins to push through the area.  The latest 12z NAM that has just come hot off the presses continues to emphasize that the atmosphere will grow unstable in the late afternoon into the evening across central/southwest sections of Alabama ahead of the cold front.

LI values in the –3 to –7 range (higher values to the SW) will support a threat of damaging winds with the increased forcing moving in from the west.  Low level shear values will also support updrafts that will keep the line charged across the state, but directional shear will be nearly non-existant.  We will have to watch for kinks in the line for minor spin ups, but the possibility is near zero.

This NAM reflectivity product does just what we think and suggests a line of showers and storms will move through the Birmingham metro during the late afternoon and push through the area during the evening.  Damaging winds up to 65 mph, small hail, and a VERY slim chance at a brief tornado touchdown are possible.  Main threats will be from the wind, lightning, and heavy rainfall.

We have posted up a slight risk of chasing if something does happen to pop and get significant…..especially ahead of the line but we don’t expect much.  Stay tuned for later updates if the situation deserves a closer look.

Nasty storm around Fulton, AL: loaded with lightning and some hail it looks like.  This cell is moving off to the east at a good clip. 

…A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1030 PM CST
FOR SOUTHWESTERN WILCOX AND NORTHEASTERN CLARKE COUNTIES…

AT 955 PM CST…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE
A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS
OVER 60 MPH.  THESE STORMS WERE ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 9 MILES
WEST OF THOMASVILLE TO JACKSON…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR…
  GLOVER…BASHI…UNION AND SPRINGFIELD AROUND 1000 PM CST…
  ASBURY…WHATELY…WHATLEY AND THOMASVILLE AROUND 1005 PM CST…
  FINLEY CROSSING AND ATKEISON AROUND 1010 PM CST…

Our ULL is moving out and our forecast thoughts were generally in line with the idea of snow being pretty meager even across North Alabama this morning.  It turns out Huntsville and Monte Sano only received a dusting of snow.  Also, heard reports of freezing rain and sleet in that area.  The idea of the snow growth region being dried out a while was correct too.

As for today….a wind advisory is in effect for eastern sections of our area due to a tightening surface gradient to our east.  This will bring some windy conditions east of I-65 with gusts over 25 mph being possible at times.  At least the sun is coming in with the wind this time. 

We expect a quiet few days with lows in the 20’s during the overnight and highs into the 40’s thru Thursday.  Another big shot of cold air looks to be on the table around the first of February along with some wintery mischief.  We will have to watch that because things change rapidly around here as we have seen this winter in terms of snow and ice.  Have a great Wednesday!

This is video from our hail storm that smacked us on Cooridor-X in Walker County near the Jefferson County line.

A weather watch is now looking possible for portions of Central Alabama this afternoon as the environment is becoming very unstable with afternoon heating and sunshine.  The SPC will upgrade portions of the area to a convective slight risk on the 1630z update….or around 11:30am.  We will monitor the situation and keep you updated on the sitaution….the SPC text and statement of the MCD follows…

 AREAS AFFECTED...NRN MS...NRN AL...NWRN GA...ERN TN AND WRN NC

   CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

   VALID 191530Z - 191630Z

   THREAT FOR MAINLY ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND WILL EXIST THIS AFTERNOON
   WITH STORMS DEVELOPING FROM NRN MS THROUGH NRN AND CNTRL AL...NWRN
   GA...ERN TN AND WRN NC. THIS AREA IS BEING UPGRADED TO A SLIGHT
   RISK...AND A WW IS POSSIBLE DEPENDING ON CONVECTIVE TRENDS.

   AT MID-DAY AN EXPANSIVE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IS MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD
   THROUGH ERN KY AND ERN TN THEN WWD INTO NRN AL AND NRN MS. THE
   ATMOSPHERE SOUTH OF THIS FEATURE IS ALREADY MODERATELY UNSTABLE WITH
   2000-2500 J/KG MLCAPE. STRONG DIABATIC HEATING OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER
   WILL RESULT IN FURTHER DESTABILIZATION THIS AFTERNOON. FLOW ALOFT IS
   WEAK WNWLY ALONG NRN PERIPHERY OF UPPER RIDGE. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE
   PROPENSITY FOR STORMS TO ORGANIZE INTO MULTICELL LINES ALONG THE
   OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...A SLIGHTLY GREATER CONCENTRATION OF STRONG TO
   DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE THAN IS USUALLY EXPECTED IN A
   PULSE STORM ENVIRONMENT.

This evening a massive bow echo has tore through portions of Iowa, Illinois and is now moving across portions of Michigan and Indiana.  90 mph winds were just reported near La Porte, IN with this convective system and numerous reports of wind damage are coming in.  Trees and power lines have been reported down across the Chicagoland area along with some reports of structural damage.  No real reports of injuries have occurred as of now, but there is a moderate risk in place from the Storm Prediction Center and an associated risk of more supercells with damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes further west.  Speaking of that…

Tornado warnings are now being issued south of the Des Moines metro area this afternoon for rotating thunderstorms that have and are continuing to develop along an outflow boundary in Central and Southern Iowa.  These storms will have the potential to spawn tornadoes throughout the evening hours and into the overnight given the very unstable boundary layer in place.  Some of these tornadoes could be strong, but they shouldn’t be quite as strong as yesterday.  As we all know, however, any tornado poses a threat to life and property.  Stay tuned to later updates….

Well, one would know on the day that my second child will be born that a slight risk of severe storms would be issued for portions of North Alabama.  That’s okay though, because today is my sons day and that is much more important.  Anyway, the biggest risk looks to be damaging winds and hail this afternoon with bulk shear values of around 30-40 knots across the valley.

The image above is of CAPE values during peak heating ranging between 2500-3500 J/Kg.  This will aid in fueling the fire as storms do get going.  Hopefully I can get other members of the storm trackers to step in today if things happen to get out of hand, but we will keep you posted as much as possible.  I will have a post later on the condition of our new one. 

-Brett

Warnings galore this afternoon with slow moving storms and wet microburst producers all over the state.  The image above was from a little while ago as storms developed across the metro and produced hail up to golf ball sized, 62 mph winds that were measured in the city of Hoover, and heavy rainfall that added up to over 4″ in one hour near the Bessemer area.

These storms continue to move and develop eastward this afternoon bringing some relief to the heat.  Storms are producing heavy rains and deadly lightning none the less.  Keep an eye to the sky this afternoon as your are out and about across the region.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Numerous storms are already underway this morning and will continue into the afternoon.  Some heavy rainfall has already occurred this morning across portions of southern Talladega County.  Here are the latest 1 hour totals as of 11am.

We expect more of this throughout the afternoon and evening as SPC has upgraded portions of our area to a slight risk.  We will update this single posting through the afternoon as conditions warrant.  We may also trek out in the field locally for a little footage if any flooding or severe storm warrants.

12:45 Update

SPC has pulled the trigger on the watch box.  The watch runs from Aliceville to Clanton to Valley and will go into effect until 7pm.  Some severe storms are already in progress across Montgomery and Pike counties.  More warnings are expected into the afternoon hours.

1pm Update

Nice storm down around Auburn where a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Lee and Chambers Counties.  This storm shows 1″ hail potential and alot of lightning as our lightning tracker count is pretty high within the last 15 minutes on this cell.

2:15PM Update

Flooding is now becoming a big issue across portions of the state.  Radar estimates 6-9″ in some locations…..and is likely over done….but the 4″ totals are quite realistic and could be causing some flash flooding issues in a very short period of time.  Lee, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties are experiencing these right now as flood warnings have been required this hour.

Powered by ScribeFire.