Francine Bringing Rain, Wind, and Tornado Threat to Mississippi and Alabama Thursday

Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana in the Parish of Terrebonne, about 30 miles south-southwest of Morgan City, as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday evening. Francine is now a Tropical Depression, but poses a substantial threat to Mississippi and Alabama today.

Timing for Central Alabama:
Expect heavy rain through Thursday evening, then again at times on Friday. The winds will increase tonight and the highest wind gusts will be from this morning until around 8 pm, with gusts dying down by midnight at the latest. There will be a chance for a few tropical tornadoes from mid morning Thursday through Friday evening.

Alabama Impacts:

-Heavy Rain: Widespread totals of 2-5+ inches across Central Alabama, with isolated spots exceeding 8 inches.

-Flooding: With low creeks and dry soil, our flood threat may be mitigated for some, but training cells are likely and heavier rainfall totals will overcome the dry conditions to lead to flash flooding.

-Winds: Sustained of 20-25 mph, gusts to around 40-50+ mph. This will cause some trees to fall and power outages.

-Tornadoes: Tornadoes are possible across Central Alabama from this morning through Friday. These tornadoes are often brief, meaning warnings come and go quickly. That does not mean these tornadoes aren’t impactful. They absolutely can be, so you should be prepared to seek shelter and have multiple ways to get warnings like a NOAA Weather Radio and the CBS 42 app.

Please check back for updates here and on CBS 42.

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