Strong to severe storms will be possible on Friday in Alabama, and they could arrive as soon as the early morning hours in some areas.
The National Weather Service said the strongest storms could have damaging winds, hail and possibly a tornado or two.
There is also a growing concern about how much rain could fall, with some areas possibly getting up to 5 inches.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is maintaining a Level 2 out of 5 or slight risk for parts of north, central and south Alabama on Friday. (The Level 2 risk area is in yellow in the map above.)
A Level 2 risk means scattered severe storms will be possible.
All but the southeast corner of Alabama will have a Level 1 risk on Friday, which means isolated severe storms will be possible.
There could be multiple rounds of storms, and the first could reach the state during the early morning hours, according to the weather service.
The weather service office in Huntsville said storms could affect north Alabama during the overnight hours.
Here’s the timing for north Alabama:
A second wave of storms will be possible — but it depends on how the first round plays out. The weather service in Huntsville noted the second round was “a highly conditional event.”
Here’s the timing for the potential second round for north Alabama:
The weather service office in Birmingham is now also thinking storms could affect central Alabama as early as 6 a.m. on Friday — and they could last into the afternoon hours.
Here’s the updated look at timing for central Alabama:
The weather service in Mobile is still thinking storms will be possible for southern Alabama on Friday afternoon:
The weather service said multiple rounds of rain and storms will be possible, and there’s a chance a few spots could get in excess of 5 inches of rain before it’s over.
Here’s the updated rainfall outlook:
In anticipation of all that rain, a flash-flood watch has been issued for the northern half of the state. It will go into effect at 6 a.m. for the counties shown in green below:
SATURDAY STORMS?
Isolated severe storms will again be possible in parts of Alabama on Saturday.
Here is the severe weather outlook for Saturday, which has been adjusted southeastward from earlier forecasts:
The southern two-thirds of the state will have a Level 1 out of 5 or marginal risk on Saturday, which means isolated severe storms will be possible.
The weather service said tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and more heavy rain will be possible in the Level 1 risk area on Saturday.
The weather service expects storms to move out of the state later in the day on Saturday, and much cooler temperatures are expected to take hold on Sunday.