Thunderstorms, Tornadoes Possible In Alabama Thursday

BIRMINGHAM, AL — April is tornado season in Alabama, as evidenced by the last two weeks of severe weather across the state. This week, Alabamians will not see a reprieve, as Thursday looks to include some severe storms and possible tornadoes.

Meteorologist James Spann said an organized batch of rain and thunderstorms will move into Alabama early Thursday morning. There will be little to no surface-based instability, so these storms should be mostly elevated, but localized wind damage or a tornado is possible along the southern fringe, Spann said.

"If additional storms can develop during the midday and afternoon, especially south and east of Birmingham, they will be capable of producing large hail, damaging winds and possibly a tornado or two," Spann said in a report Wednesday. "This could easily be an 'all or nothing' kind of thing."

The morning storms have the potential to leave a large, rain-cooled air mass with an effective front near U.S. 80, meaning no severe weather for the northern half of the state, Spann said. High-resolution models show a surge of unstable air over east-central and south Alabama during the afternoon, with sufficient helicity values for severe storms.

"The bottom line is that there is high confidence in a round of morning storms with potential for strong winds and some hail, but low confidence in what happens during the midday and afternoon," he said. "Just stay tuned for updates."