Strong Storms Expected in Alabama This Weekend

ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann is predicting strong storms to enter Alabama Sunday night. 

The Storm Prediction Center has almost all of Alabama in a risk of severe weather on their “Day Five” outlook, which includes Sunday and Sunday night, through 6:00 am Monday.

Here is Spann's assessment,

• TIMING: Models are becoming more consistent, and confidence is higher. There is a decent chance much of the day Sunday will be dry, with only a few scattered showers; temperatures will rise into the low 70s Sunday afternoon. The primary window for strong to severe storms will come from about 9:00 pm Sunday through 6:00 a.m. Monday.
• THREATS: No doubt strong, potentially damaging straight line winds with a line of storms will be the primary concern. The low level jet (5,000 feet off the ground) will be in excess of 50 knots, and it won’t take much to get some of that down to the surface with the stronger thunderstorms. But, there is a pretty high degree of helicity (veering of the wind with altitude), and a few small, spin-up tornadoes will be possible within the line.
• This is your classic cold season case of very good dynamics, but marginal thermodynamics (high shear, low CAPE). Looks like we will be burning the midnight oil Sunday night… but understand we are still several days away and the forecast could change, so keep up with the latest blog posts here.
• MONDAY: Rain and storms will end during the morning, followed by clearing late in the day. It will be cooler with a high between 57 and 60 degrees.

According to the National Weather Service, the main threat appears to be heavy rain, damaging wind gusts, but isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out.

Since the storm is still so far away, timing and intensity forecasts are likely to change.