Heavy Bands Of Rain

A Tornado Watch is in effect for most of the Tennessee Valley until 8:00 pm this evening.  Currently there are two main broken lines of heavy rain, possibly producing some wind gusts of 30-40 mph, tracking north-northeast, moving across the heart of the valley.  There has not been much lightning with these storms, only occasional rumbles of thunder. Below is the latest radar image.

So far there have been no warnings across the area, and storms have been slow to organize, but there is still a small window for a few severe storms to develop as the surface low and associated cold front move across the area.  The severe threat remains marginal, with the main concerns continuing to be strong wind gusts and heavy rain, with a minimal tornado threat.  Actually the Storm Prediction Center has just trimmed back part of central Alabama that was in a Slight Risk for severe storms, but areas east of I-65 in north Alabama and stretching northward into southern middle Tennessee are still in a Slight Risk.  Though there is no need to change plans today, just go about your day as usual, just have a way to get the latest weather information and check back in with us frequently.

There are a number of ways for you to stay connected and informed and get warning information. WHNT offers a free app called Live Alert 19 that will alert you when we are going live on television. A NOAA Weather Radio is always a great tool to have, but there are some mobile applications that will accomplish the same thing for you: MyWarn and iMap Weather Radio. You have to pay for them, but they are worth the money.

- Jennifer Watson