Tornado Watch Issued for Southern Alabama and Florida Panhandle

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued a Tornado Watch for portions of Southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, effective from 550 AM CDT to 100 PM CDT on Thursday, September 12, 2024. The watch area includes a 60-mile-wide corridor along a line from 35 miles west-southwest of Evergreen, Alabama, to 35 miles south-southeast of Marianna, Florida. As a low-pressure system continues to move northward over Mississippi, a slot of favorable conditions for supercells and tornadoes is shifting northward and inland.

Key Takeaways:

• The Tornado Watch has been issued for Southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, replacing Tornado Watch 668.
• The watch area is approximately 60 miles wide and 100 miles long, covering parts of Southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
• Primary threats include a few tornadoes possible, with severe thunderstorms, hail, extreme turbulence, and surface wind gusts to 50 knots.
• A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450 are expected, with a mean storm motion vector of 16030.
• The Aviation Watch (SAW) product, which depicts the watch area, is an approximation and should be considered in conjunction with the actual watch depiction.
• The watch is in effect from 550 AM CDT to 100 PM CDT on Thursday, September 12, 2024.

Statistics:

• Probability of 2 or more tornadoes: 50%
• Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes: 20%
• Probability of 10 or more severe wind events: 65 knots
• Surface wind gusts: 50 knots
• Extreme turbulence: present

Sources:

• National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (ddd.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov)
• Associated Watch Outline Update WOUS64 KWNS WOU9 (www.weather.gov)