FIRST ALERT: Coverage of rain to increase through morning

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Nicholas made landfall overnight as a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 75 mph around 12:30 a.m. on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, which is roughly ten miles west-southwest of Sargent Beach, Texas. It is spreading heavy rainfall and a significant flash flood threat for parts of east Texas, but especially Louisiana, south Mississippi, and potentially the Alabama Gulf Coast and the Panhandle of Florida. The immediate coast could see a strong or severe storm or two and a spin up tornado threat.

Locally, First Alert AccuTrack Radar shows scattered areas of rain and storms in north and east Alabama. Steadier rain is down towards Meridian, MS and data suggests that area lifting northeast and arriving by morning in central Alabama. New data shows lower coverage though, especially northwest. I think 70 percent coverage is good for now, but we may get to lower it if data continues to trend downward. Keep up with radar trends via the WBRC First Alert Weather App. Thursday features more chances for rain especially south and east of I-20/59.

It looks like another surge of tropical moisture arrives on Friday and the coverage is up to 70 percent. It could be wet for high school football games. Even though we have high rain chances later this week and moderate chances through the weekend, it doesn’t mean it will rain non-stop. There will be lulls at times in the morning and afternoon hours and the best way to keep up with trends is by checking the radar frequently on our app. Unsettled weather continues into next week as we track an approaching cold front. Hopefully, we will cool down but there is no guarantee it will make it this far south.

We continue to monitor two tropical waves out in the Atlantic. The first disturbance is located just east of the Bahamas and will likely move northwards staying just west of Bermuda. It has a medium chance to become a tropical depression or storm in the next two to five days. Areas along the east coast should watch this system. If anything develops, it will likely end up weak. The second disturbance is moving off the coast of Africa and has a high chance to develop by the end of the week. Models show something developing, but it remains too far out to determine if it will impact anyone. We should know more by this weekend once it develops.

Tracking Nicholas.

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