Severe weather in the South today...

The SPC has put out a 'moderate' risk of severe weather for portions of Alabama and Mississippi this afternoon into tonight, and a tornado watch will soon be issued. Frankly, the severe weather indices are through the roof. All of the ingredients necessary for a severe weather outbreak seem to be in place. Places such as Birmingham and Starkville were already into the lower 70s for temps as of 11am central time, and dewpoints were in the low to mid 60s. The cloud cover is also broken enough that intervals of sun are getting through.

A similar setup to today that is being discussed is March 27, 1994. That was the infamous Palm Sunday tornado outbreak. There are some differences (such as that day, the tornadoes wound up making it all of the way up into the southern Piedmont of NC...that won't happen today), but for Alabama especially, the setup is very similar. Sky-high indices, a front draped west-to east across the north-central part of the state, and a primed atmosphere. Like that day 17 years ago, the severe weather will likely come in multiple waves this afternoon into tonight...not just one big round of severe weather.

If you are interested, I wrote an account of the 1994 Palm Sunday outbreak within a post here on the blog back in early April of last year. You can find that post here.

For NC, a chilly, dreary day with many Piedmont spots in the 40s. Feels like Winter out there.