Isolated Severe Storms Possible Today Along the Coast - Also, First Thoughts on Hurricane Season

March 22, 2024

The stormy pattern continues and along with it another, albeit relatively low, threat of severe weather. The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Marginal risk of severe weather for the Alabama coastal areas and the entire Florida Panhandle. Isolated tornadoes (2% chance), hail (5% chance), and damaging winds (5% chance) are all possible. Storms moving off of the Gulf in the afternoon and maybe into the early evening will have the greatest chance of being severe. Otherwise expect rainy weather starting later this morning and lasting through early tomorrow.

Day 1 Outlook (7 a.m. today - 7 a.m. tomorrow)

The last several severe weather events that were forecast didn't produce many storm reports Hopefully that trend continues today but I think that may change next week. Expect another weather system to move in late Monday. No specifics are available yet but I think we'll see a greater severe threat with it than we have lately. After that it is possible that the weather stays clear through Easter but we'll have to see. Temps look to stay mild through the end of the month if not into April a bit so it's nice we're getting more spring-like temps right now. Longer term it looks like the stormy weather will continue on and off through May but we'll see how that verifies.

It's too early to be concerned about the tropics but everything I'm reading is pointing to a very active season. If you've been putting off any longer term upgrades to protect your property this spring would be a good time to get that done. High activity doesn't always bring a lot of impacts though. Last year saw quite a lot of storms but the prevailing weather pattern kept them mostly away from land. It'll be a while before we see what the pattern is this year but maybe that trend will repeat for us. If the pattern favors tracks that bring more storms ashore though we may be in for an exhausting season. There's nothing we can do but prepare and then wait and watch but I wanted to keep you informed.

That's it for today. Stay safe and have a good weekend.

Chris