Story By MARY BAILEY
The National Weather Service in Huntsville has already outlined the severe weather threat that is possible for later this week.
Current Operational Level for Thursday, March 13:
Minor Impacts:
Safety: May pose a direct threat to life and property.
Impact Potential:
Typically results in some inconvenience to daily life or minor disruptions to daily life.
Low chance for an isolated strong/severe storm Thursday morning through afternoon.
Timeline: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Thursday
What to expect:
Low confidence in any severe weather Thursday, but there are low level threats for wind gusts greater than 60 mph, hail 1 inch or greater and low tornado threats.
Current Operational Level for Friday, March 14:
Timeline: 7 a.m. Friday – 7 a.m. Saturday
Enhanced risk has been introduced over the northwest part of the state.
A slight risk remains over much of the north central and northeast part of the state.
Threats include:
Damaging winds – low confidence
Tornadoes – low confidence
Large hail – low confidence
The National Weather Service states that residents in the Tennessee Valley should be prepared for an overnight event Friday night. The threat to life and property will be higher while many are asleep. Be sure to have multiple ways to receive warnings capable of waking you up.
Current Operational Level for Saturday, March 15:
Threats include:
Damaging winds: Probabilities of wind gusts above 40 mph have gone up to 70% across northeast Alabama.
A Wind Advisory may be needed in future updates.
Tornadoes: Medium Confidence
Large hail: Low confidence
This will be the main event. A regional outbreak of severe storms is expected across portions of the Tennessee Valley and Deep South, including the threat for strong tornadoes.
Rain: Widespread 2-3 inches of rain with localized totals up to 4-5 inches. This could lead to rises on area rivers and streams as well as flash flooding.
Marshall County EMA Director, Blake Farmer, says now is the time to prepare for the pending weather.
“Have a plan. Put together an emergency kit. Charge your devices and be ready to take action if a warning is issued,” Farmer said. “Have more than one way to receive notifications, especially since some of these storms are predicted to hit at night.”
Farmer encourages the community to sign up for Marshall County alerts on their website: marshallcoema.org.
All county storm shelters are planning to be opened.
