First Alert Weather Day: Significant severe weather possible for Wednesday

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Wednesday is a First Alert Weather Day. This means there is a good chance for significant widespread severe weather in our area including tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. At this point, it's almost impossible to nail down locations. It is safe to say the threat is areawide both during the morning and afternoon/evening. Models are indicating the higher risk should be east of I-65 Wednesday, but I'm cautious to be too specific because we could see some factors that result in the higher threat spreading westward. Have that severe weather plan ready across Central Alabama.

Two Round of Severe Storms: We could see one round of storms during the morning hours as early as 3 a.m. for places along and south of I-20. The greatest impact would be damaging winds, but a tornado cannot be ruled out along the warm front as it lifts to the north. This will impact the morning commute. The farther north in the state, the lower threat for tornadoes.

Round two will happen around noon and continue through the early evening. The question is how much will the morning rain and storms impact what happens during the afternoon. This could be a limiting factor. Temperatures will likely warm between 78 and 80 degrees. High resolution model data is still indicating some very high instability values. While the shear should be a bit lower in the afternoon, it is possible the instability could overcome the shear and still result in large violent tornadoes developing. The storms during the afternoon have a better chance of forming east of I-65.

Make sure you have several ways to receive severe weather information including the WBRC First Alert Weather app and NOAA weather radio. This is an evolving weather situation and we could see this setup up worsen or improve as new data arrives. We will be sure to share what we know as soon as the data becomes available.

You can watch us on TV, and if you lose power, you can always watch via the WBRC First Alert Weather app. Make sure those mobile devices are charged and ready. Let's prepare for the worst and hope and pray for the best. We will keep you updated.

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