Wednesday Storm Threat

A Tornado Watch is in effect for our area until 2 AM Thursday. This means that conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes through the overnight hours.

Find Storm Shelters Near You

The Weather Authority will be monitoring the potential for strong to severe storms. The main threats from storms that do develop will be strong winds of 50-60 mph, hail and locally heavy rainfall. There’s enough wind shear in the data that a storm could rotate and produce a tornado so that threat is there but it’s lower on the threat scale. Flash flooding may become a concern late tonight.

Flood Watch in effect through Friday

With multiple rounds of rain in the forecast for the end of the week, there is the threat the Tennessee Valley could experience excessive rain. A Flood Watch will go into effect Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and remain in effect through 6 p.m. Friday. This heavy rain will likely lead to rises in local creeks, rivers and streams. Ponding on local roads and flash flooding will be a concern.

Thursday – Friday Storm Threat:

The greater threat of strong to severe storms will arrive Thursday into Friday. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has already highlighted parts of our area for the risk of severe storms (Level 1 Marginal Risk).

A warm front looks like it will be north of the area on Thursday, placing the Tennessee Valley in the warm sector. As a few upper-air disturbances rotate in aloft, the lift will help generate storms. However, the threat of severe weather is conditional based on a few factors.

While scattered showers and storms will be possible Thursday morning into the afternoon, there are a few things that would limit severe storms. First, the combination of rainfall during the morning hours and abundant cloud cover will stabilize the atmosphere. If the sun is able to break through the clouds this would increase the instability, leading to a greater chance of storms. A cap, or warm layer aloft that can suppress storm development, could also be an issue.

This is something to monitor closely as any changes to the forecast period Thursday will lead to rapidly changing weather conditions. If storms are able to form, they may be strong to severe. Nonetheless, you’ll want the umbrella on Thursday as we will be tracking the chance of rain and isolated storms.

Friday’s Storms and Wind

A QLCS, or quasi-linear convective system, looks to move through early Friday morning. Damaging winds will be a threat with this line. We’ll also have to look for any embedded circulations within the line. This line will likely move quickly through our area from west to east between about 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Gradient winds will turn strong on Friday, with gusts over 50 mph possible. This could lead to power outages and trees coming down.

The Weather Authority will be tracking it all. Our Live Alert 19 weather app is great to get alerts!