While March didn’t come in like a lion, the month of April is making up for it.
For the third time in as many weeks, Northwest Florida and South Alabama are facing an onslaught of stormy weather.
“Just stay weather-aware for the next couple of hours, and if you’ve got multiple ways to get those weather notifications, you’re in good shape,” said Justin Ballard at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.
He adds that most of the heavy stuff is hitting Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. But severe thunderstorms remain possible for Escambia, Santa Rosa, and parts of Okaloosa Counties — packing winds that are gusting up to 70 mph.
“Once we get beyond 4 p.m. [central time], certainly we’ll be dealing with much quieter and tamer weather, at least for the short term,” said Ballard. “Before more storms fire up as we get into the day Thursday.”
A wind advisory is in effect until six o’clock this evening for most of the Florida Panhandle, including the western counties.
It's important to know the difference between a watch and a warning. This infographic from @NWSJacksonville is a good resource to keep in mind on days like today, where severe weather is ongoing. #FLwx https://t.co/rpFOq4h9Q4
— Florida Storms (@FloridaStorms) April 5, 2022
“Winds could be anywhere from 25 to 40 mph, with the southwesterly winds; on top of the threat of damaging winds with thunderstorms, we also have non-thunderstorm winds to worry about, through about six this evening, Ballard said.
Also look for roughly more of the same on Wednesday, thanks to a secondary area of low pressure moving east of the Rockies on Wednesday. That means a multi-day severe weather opportunity for the southern U.S. It will join the moderate instability and increasing humidity that’s forming behind the first frontal boundary on Tuesday.
“Not just your area of the Panhandle, but all the way through, really, the northern half of the state basically, all the way to Jacksonville,” said Ballard. “With damaging winds and isolated tornadoes; kind of the main concern as we go through [Wednesday], again basically along the I-10 corridor.”
As with every stormy period, there’s a time of calm on the other side. Ballard says this is no exception later in the week.
“Pretty much, yes,” said FPREN’s Justin Ballard. “Once we get into, say Thursday, especially into Friday, we’ll start to tame down the weather and we’ll actually see some sunshine. So the next 24 to 48 hours before we can enjoy a much nicer — partly cooler — weekend.”
More information can be found at floridastorms.org.