WEATHER AWARE: Outer rainbands from Francine arrive

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Clouds have already moved into the southeast ahead of Francine’s arrival along the gulf coast later today. Rain showers will follow suit as we head towards daybreak.

The forecast will be a soaker starting at daybreak throughout the entire day with measurable rainfall and winds gusting up to 30 mph. Roads will be rain slick, and standing water will be across low lying areas and intersections.

Thursday there will be more forcing across the region and our east Alabama counties with winds gusting along each outer rainband, with gusts up to 45 mph. These conditions over time will topple trees and snap branches off quite easily. A tornado threat is marginal, but the bottom line is the set-up will pose the risk for spin-up tornadoes. There will be several outer bands throughout the day, making this quite hazardous.

Still dealing with some of the leftover energy of Francine by early Friday morning and into the early afternoon. But the good news, the system looks to clear just in time for kickoff for Friday night football games.

Weekend becomes quieter with just a few showers and storms with the return of mostly to partly sunny skies. Temperatures rebound as well back into the mid to low 80s.

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