A major tornado outbreak is occurring to the west of the area, says Dallas County EMA Director Pam Cook, and weather spotters are waiting and watching.

As far as the front and the accompanying line of storms goes, this area is a long way from seeing it get in here. A thumbnail analysis puts the front into our western border just after 1 a.m., and in Jasper/Tuscaloosa/Demopolis just after 3 a.m.

Cook estimates that the front will lumber into the Birmingham and Selma areas between for and 4 a.m., and from Anniston to Montgomery between 5 and 6 a.m. But she warns that this is an extrapolation.