Hail, possibility of storms threaten Selma, Dallas County
Published 3:42 pm Sunday, March 18, 2018
The National Weather Service is monitoring two weather events Sunday and Monday that could bring severe thunderstorms through Selma and Dallas County.
The first event is Sunday afternoon and evening from noon until 8 p.m. According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service, Dallas County is in a marginal risk area across the southern part of the state.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainties with exactly where the biggest severe weather threat is going to be, but for right now our forecast is going to be basically all of central Alabama, including the Selma region,” said Nathan Owen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham.
A warm front moving north could bring isolated hail up to quarter size and isolated damaging winds up to 60 miles per hour. According to the National Weather Service, confidence was low as of Saturday afternoon for severe storms across southern counties Sunday afternoon.
A potentially more widespread severe weather event could be possible Monday afternoon and evening.
“The biggest threat is probably going to be Monday afternoon whenever we get this frontal boundary that moves through,” Owen said.
“Those storms along that line will be able to produce larger hail and possibly a threat of tornadoes as well.”
The National Weather Service’s latest forecast includes Dallas County in an enhanced risk area. The area stretches from just south of Troy up to just north of Gadsden.
According to the National Weather Service, there is a possibility Monday of hail up to tennis ball size and damaging winds up to 60 miles per hour. The tornado threat is still uncertain at this point, but the National Weather Service continues to monitor the situation.
“Tornadoes are definitely possibly. There is still some uncertainty, but the potential for tornadoes is there,” Owen said.
The National Weather Service is encouraging people to stay weather aware and to keep a check on the latest forecast.
“People at home should definitely pay attention to the changes in the forecast over the next couple of days, especially as the timing and location kind of gets more specific,” Owen said. “Just be ready to use that emergency plan that people should have in place already and take the necessary actions ahead of time and during the severe weather when it does occur.”
The latest forecasts can be found on the “US National Weather Service Birmingham Alabama” Facebook page or on their website at https://www.weather.gov/bmx/.