Severe T'Storm Warning (PDS)

This is one of those rare situations where a Severe T-Storm Warning will trip a cell phone WEA and wake somebody up. And I hope it does. People need to take cover similar to how they would for a tornado with this - small central room on the lowest floor of a sturdy house - preferably not a mobile home - away from windows. These are straight-line winds, but taking cover from them could save some people from getting seriously hurt this morning. So showing it even though it's south of our area. 

6:31 AM - James Spann is doing a live stream covering this.

6:55 - These storms coming out of the South side of Birmingham are still bringing down trees and power lines to our South. I'm going to discontinue coverage since nothing is going severe in North Alabama. 

 868 

WWUS54 KBMX 181118

SVSBMX

Severe Weather Statement

National Weather Service Birmingham AL

618 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

ALC007-073-117-125-181200-

/O.CON.KBMX.SV.W.0141.000000T0000Z-250518T1200Z/

Tuscaloosa AL-Shelby AL-Bibb AL-Jefferson AL-

618 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 AM CDT

FOR EASTERN TUSCALOOSA...WESTERN SHELBY...NORTHEASTERN BIBB AND

SOUTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTIES...

At 617 AM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Abernant, or 13

miles west of Bessemer, moving east at 65 mph.

THIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE STORM FOR BIBB, JEFFERSON, SHELBY COUNTIES.

HAZARD...80 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 

         shelter. Mobile homes will be heavily damaged. Expect 

         considerable damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles. 

         Extensive tree damage and power outages are likely.

Locations impacted include...

American Village, Brookwood, Oak Mountain State Park, Camp Branch,

Green Pond, Maylene, Helena, Camp Horne B.S.A., Wilton, Patton Creek,

Weller, McAdory, West Blocton, The Summit, Shelby County Airport,

Calera, Meadowbrook, Dolomite, Abernant, and East Brookwood.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a

building.

This is a DANGEROUS SITUATION. This storm is producing widespread 

wind damage across Tuscaloosa County. SEEK SHELTER NOW inside a 

sturdy structure and stay away from windows.

This is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION with tornado like wind

speeds expected. Mobile homes and high profile vehicles are

especially susceptible to winds of this magnitude and may be

overturned. For your protection move to an interior room on the

lowest floor of a building. This storm has the potential to cause

serious injury and significant property damage.

Continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.

Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading

killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to

be struck by lightning.

&&

LAT...LON 3353 8736 3353 8732 3351 8732 3351 8727

      3353 8727 3352 8726 3352 8724 3346 8657

      3307 8667 3307 8688 3302 8688 3317 8752

TIME...MOT...LOC 1117Z 279DEG 55KT 3333 8720 

THUNDERSTORM DAMAGE THREAT...DESTRUCTIVE

HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED

MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN

WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED

MAX WIND GUST...80 MPH

$$

12/Robinson

Special Weather Statement

These storms are expected to remain below severe limits, for anyone who woke up to the sound of thunder and maybe is unnerved by what happened in Kentucky and Missouri the other day. These are sort of strong thunderstorms with gusty winds, maybe some small hail, definitely a good bit of lightning. But unless you're out dancing in the lightning or something else goofy, they are not thought to pose an immediate threat to life or property. That's why there's no warning on them, just a weather statement. 

5:32 AM - And now the SWS has been extended into Cullman County, including the city of Cullman, including other places like Hanceville. But wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour do not make a storm severe. Gusts of 58 mph or greater would. Or hail at least an inch in diameter - the size of quarters. 

5:35 - And we actually do have a Severe Thunderstorm Warning now, but it's far enough South that I'm only going to mention it in passing. It's a storm near Reform, moving toward Northport and Northern parts of the city of Tuscaloosa. Like it's expected to affect Lake Tuscaloosa. This is for wind gusts up to 60 mph. The hail is expected to stay just under severe limits, about penny-sized, 3/4 inch. That used to be the threshold, and John Gordon campaigned to get it raised to 1 inch in diameter so that we'd have fewer warnings just based on hail that wasn't going to do much damage. 

By the way, when I mention basic common-sense measures about thunderstorms, I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence. Sometimes if I remember to, I'll do simple things like unplugging my laptop or phone and run it on battery power if there's a lot of lightning around where I am. Because why tempt fate? I don't remember to do it every single time I hear thunder, but it's a good idea to use good sense about even routine storms. And lightning does kill more people than tornadoes or hurricanes. The reason I mention people being goofy and dancing in the lightning is that I worked at a steel plant one time with a couple of dummies who really did like to dance at the edge of the building whenever we had close lightning strikes. And later in life, I knew a college-educated dummy with a military background who really should have known better, who sat outside smoking cigarettes and drinking vodka on the back porch during storms, usually listening to classical music through headphones. When I suggested he might be taking a chance there, he laughed and said he dared the lightning to strike him. For better or worse, it never did. 

And another time, I was at a football game where we went under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, but I was too young to have any say in what to do. I was still in high school, didn't have a car to drive or anything. There was a lot of cloud-to-ground lightning. Everybody kept laughing off my protests that people didn't need to be outside. And then there was a very close lightning strike that ran in on one of the announcer's headset. They had to take him to the hospital. And the players for both teams took off running in a panic to the fieldhouse. 

That should give you an idea of why I choose to have a sense of humor about simple hazards like lightning. 

One of the announcers who didn't get struck by lightning had a sense of humor too. When it would have been halftime, we heard him announce (from my Dad's car, we heard it), "And for our halftime entertainment tonight, you get to watch the weather!"

5:51 - Got another warning that includes places like Bessemer, Hoover, down to Alabaster. That's South of the area this blog is really concerned with, but saw it and am mentioning in passing. 

5:53 - And they're getting more concerned about that storm moving into Tuscaloosa County, could produce gusts up to 70 mph. 

5:59 - The stuff moving through Cullman County is just strong storms with lots of lightning and some high wind gusts, but not enough to be considered severe. Sometimes I think it's important to tell people not to worry so much, as well as telling them when to take something really seriously. This is not really serious, except like I joked about above, hopefully everybody reading this has enough sense not to put themselves in danger from plain old lightning. There is a lot of it in these storms. 

6:03 AM - The special weather statement is for winds that could gust up to about 40 miles per hour. 

6:14 - Next in line for these strong storms are places like Oneonta, Snead, over to Rainbow City and Gadsden. 

6:17 - Here's the broad view. This isn't that big a deal for North Alabama. That storm moving from near Tuscaloosa toward Alabaster is worth taking reasonable shelter for though, winds still estimated to gust up to 70 mph. And that's getting toward the higher end of severe winds. They put a tag on the warning saying the damage threat is considerable. 

6:20 - And actually, that storm is looking meaner down there, with winds up to 80 miles per hour possible. That could start to do some structural damage instead of just taking out trees and power lines. That's hurricane force. 

I'm actually going to post the full text of this warning even though it's well south of us. Since I'm already up watching this stuff. They are highlighting this as an extremely dangerous situation even though it's straight-line winds and not a tornado. 

 Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Birmingham AL

519 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

ALZ013-015-023-181115-

Fayette AL-Walker AL-Tuscaloosa AL-

519 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT CENTRAL WALKER...NORTHWESTERN

TUSCALOOSA AND FAYETTE COUNTIES THROUGH 615 AM CDT...

At 519 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along

a line extending from near Bluff to near Millport. Movement was east

at 60 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around

         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is

         possible.

Locations impacted include...

Stone Wall, Whitson, Bankston, Moores Bridge, Richard Arthur Field,

Windham Springs, Samantha, West Corona, Fayette County Public Lake,

Fayette, Wiley, Holly Grove, Gorgas, Oakman, Corona, Townley, Bluff,

Ashcraft Corner, Goodsprings, and Boley Springs.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.

Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe

shelter inside a building or vehicle.

&&

LAT...LON 3388 8795 3382 8709 3339 8742 3344 8784

      3352 8784 3353 8795

TIME...MOT...LOC 1019Z 273DEG 50KT 3386 8791 3354 8817

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN

MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

$$

12/Robinson

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Birmingham AL

503 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

ALZ014-015-181045-

Walker AL-Winston AL-

503 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHWESTERN WALKER AND SOUTHERN

WINSTON COUNTIES THROUGH 545 AM CDT...

At 502 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over

Nauvoo, or near Carbon Hill, moving east at 40 mph.

HAZARD...Half inch hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Minor hail damage to vegetation is possible.

Locations impacted include...

Curry, Camp McDowell, Mill Branch, Maple Branch, Hullett Branch,

Clear Creek, Smith Dam, Nesmith, Ashbank, Smith Lake, Little Dismal

Creek, Yellow Creek, Coon Creek, Poplar Springs, Helicon, Rockhouse

Creek, Lupton, Battle Branch, Hidden Cove Campground, and Black Pond.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.

Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe

shelter inside a building or vehicle.

&&

LAT...LON 3399 8711 3399 8715 3397 8714 3396 8711

      3394 8710 3393 8709 3390 8759 3394 8764

      3401 8763 3420 8711

TIME...MOT...LOC 1002Z 260DEG 33KT 3397 8753

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN

MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH

$$

12/Robinson

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Birmingham AL

500 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

ALZ012-022-031-181045-

Greene AL-Pickens AL-Lamar AL-

500 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PICKENS...NORTH CENTRAL GREENE

AND LAMAR COUNTIES THROUGH 545 AM CDT...

At 500 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along

a line extending from near Bedford to near Bent Oak. Movement was

east at 50 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around

         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is

         possible.

Locations impacted include...

Aliceville, Cody, Ethelsville, Carrollton, Dillburg, Shaw, George

Downer Airport, Kennedy, Kirk, Star, Benevola, Johnston Lake,

Hightogy, Memphis, Bevill Lock And Dam, Crossville, Garden, Blooming

Grove, North Pickens Airport, and Lamar County Airport.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with these storms.

Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe

shelter inside a building or vehicle.

&&

LAT...LON 3390 8823 3391 8795 3353 8795 3352 8784

      3304 8783 3310 8833

TIME...MOT...LOC 1000Z 274DEG 41KT 3382 8831 3340 8858

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN

MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

$$

12/Robinson

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Jackson MS

455 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

MSZ030-031-181030-

Lowndes MS-Clay MS-

455 AM CDT Sun May 18 2025

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT SOUTHEASTERN CLAY AND SOUTHERN

LOWNDES COUNTIES THROUGH 530 AM CDT...

At 455 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over

Artesia, or 10 miles east of Starkville, moving east at 45 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around

         unsecured objects.

This strong thunderstorm will be near...

  Bent Oak around 500 AM CDT.

  Columbus around 505 AM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

&&

LAT...LON 3335 8830 3336 8867 3356 8867 3357 8869

      3358 8869 3358 8827

TIME...MOT...LOC 0955Z 268DEG 39KT 3341 8864

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN

MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

$$

DC

Unsettled Pattern Through Tuesday, Another Chance at Stronger Storms, Then a Cool Snap Late in the Week

FORECAST:

Sunday (High 83, Low 64): Partly to mostly cloudy. Scattered thunderstorms are possible. 

Monday (High 87, Low 65): Partly to mostly sunny. Isolated showers/thunderstorms are possible. 

Tuesday (High 86, Low 67): Mostly cloudy, muggy, and breezy with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible during the day. Thunderstorms are likely in the evening and night hours, and some may be severe. 

EXTENDED OUTLOOK:

Wednesday (High 78, Low 64): Mostly sunny.

Thursday (High 69, Low 53): Mostly sunny. 

Friday (High 73, Low 49): Sunny.

Saturday (High 79, Low 54): Mostly sunny with a 20% chance of showers/thunderstorms. 

PRONÓSTICO:

Domingo (Máxima: 83, Mínima: 64): Parcialmente a mayormente nublado. Posibles tormentas dispersas.

Lunes (Máxima: 87, Mínima: 65): Parcialmente a mayormente nublado. Posibles lluvias/tormentas aisladas.

Martes (Máxima: 86, Mínima: 67): Mayormente nublado, bochornoso y ventoso, con posibles lluvias y tormentas dispersas durante el día. Es probable que haya tormentas eléctricas por la tarde y la noche, algunas de las cuales podrían ser severas.

PERSPECTIVA EXTENDIDA:

Miércoles (Máxima: 78, Mínima: 64): Mayormente soleado.

Jueves (Máxima: 69, Mínima: 53): Mayormente soleado.

Viernes (Máxima: 73, Mínima: 49): Soleado.

Sábado (Máxima: 79, Mínima: 54): Mayormente soleado con un 20% de probabilidad de lluvias/tormentas.

NOTES:

Weather101 Classes continue thanks to the fine folks at the National Weather Service in Nashville. 

The National Weather Service in Birmingham is updating some software, so several weather radio sites will be offline next week. 

NOAA has an animated series to help kids learn about weather and climate. If your kid finds this too babyish, sign them up for one of the Weather101 classes. Free advice. 

Since Tuesday/Tuesday night will carry some risk of organized severe weather again, now is a good time to go back over your severe weather safety plan. And that's just to be on the safe side. We are nearly into summer, but our primary severe weather season runs through the end of May. 

The latest episode of the Weatherbrains podcast was an unusually good one, especially a lot of the things John Gordon had to say. 

DISCUSSION:

At 4 PM, skies are fair in Cullman. The temperature is 82 degrees. The dewpoint is 66 degrees, making the relative humidity 58%. Winds are variable at 6 miles per hour, with higher gusts up to 17 mph. The pressure is 29.96 inches and falling slowly. 

It is also sunny in Jasper. The temperature is 88 degrees. The dewpoint is 66, making the relative humidity 49%. Winds are variable at 6 mph. The pressure is 29.95 inches and falling. 

Haleyville also has fair skies, but some haze has reduced the visibility down to 4 miles at this hour. The temperature is 85 degrees with a dewpoint of 58, making the relative humidity 40%. Winds are West at 8 mph. The pressure is 29.98 inches/991.2 millibars and falling. 

Elsewhere around the area: Fort Payne is sunny and 84 degrees. Sunny and 86 in Decatur. Also 86 degrees in the Rocket City, but Huntsville has mostly cloudy skies. Also 86 in Muscle Shoals, but they are sunny. Tupelo is sunny and 88. Partly cloudy skies in Memphis and 86 degrees. And then the Music City, Nashville, is mostly sunny and 86 degrees. They have Southwest winds gusting up to 30 mph or so within the past hour. 

And we have cleared out from one round of storms. But the cold front is still located to our Northwest, draped through basically the Western half of Tennessee and up through Kentucky. There are some isolated thunderstorms trying to reach severe limits through the Plains and Mid-South. Note one back in Oklahoma and another along the Louisiana/Arkansas state line. 

Yesterday was quite a severe weather event, and we only caught some mild leftovers around here. Still there were scattered trees down, most notably blocking the road by Spirit Life Church of God in Cullman. 

They took the radiosonde launch/sounding for the upper air at the Shelby County Airport at 5 AM this morning. We had strongly unstable air but weak wind shear to support any tornado threat, just enough wind shear to support a damaging wind threat. 

Meanwhile at Nashville, the usual 7 AM balloon launch showed that the atmosphere has become very stable and calm after last night's storms cleared out. 

At the moment, the severe weather is out in Oklahoma and Texas, but the SPC's link to current Watches is screwing up at the moment, so we'll just pass over that. Let's get on to forecasting our local weather. 

Tomorrow is an interesting day where we've got high pressure in the region but also moisture/rain/storms trying to make it in here from the cold front out to our West and North. And it's sort of a standoff, not as much as we see in summer, but still a little bit of a standoff. We've had a lot of those lately. 

The NAM shows a lot more moisture making it in here than the GFS. 

Tomorrow looks like a setup for organized severe weather out in the Great Plains, especially over Kansas and into Nebraska. Supercells there will be capable of really large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. 

Around here, we only have a marginal threat for a few isolated storms being capable of damaging wind gusts or hail up to about the size of quarters. 

Looks like a High of about 83 tomorrow, Low of about 64 tonight/in the morning. And I'm going to put the rain chance at 40%. Overall I think our rain and storms will be scattered. But a few of them could pack a punch, a lot like on an especially muggy summer's day. 

This unsettled pattern continues to keep the models divided on Monday. 

The NAM shows a lot less moisture available then than the GFS does. I think it's closer to being right. Trimming rain chance back to 20% which is just the isolated rain you'd see on a typical summer day. Expecting a High of about 86-87, a Low of about 65-66. 

And it looks like yet another organized severe weather threat shaping up for the Plains, Mid-South, and Midwest on Monday. Some significant damage may take place in those areas where you see the hatching. Especially Oklahoma, Kansas, into Missouri, things are looking rough. Around here, again we just have that marginal 5% risk of an isolated thunderstorm producing enough wind or hail to be considered at severe limits. 

And while I'm not going to really sound the alarms about such things compared to the days we have when severe weather is more organized/higher-risk, it's a big deal if a storm like that happens to hit you. We had a church in Cullman last night where a lot of trees came down in the road. And all I can say is I'm glad that didn't happen on a Sunday or Wednesday night when people might have been trying to drive to or from. 

Tuesday is when we'll really need to start watching it around here. Most of the day looks fine, the storms probably coming in during the evening/night hours. 

The combination of unstable air and wind shear looks concerning going into Tuesday evening/night, and a forecast sounding around Smith Lake shows really strong instability, nearly 2,000 joules of CAPE. So as usual lately, that's at summerlike levels. Our wind shear is definitely enough to support a damaging wind threat but looks more marginal for a tornado threat. Some tornado risk will probably be there, like last night, but if this guidance is right, it should be on the lower end around here. 

This is barely within the reach of the NAM now. So let's look at something else. 

The GFS is showing an earlier onset time, between about 4-7 PM. 

It is showing more moderate instability but stronger wind shear, especially the kind that would support tornadoes trying to form. The tornado threat still looks fairly isolated by this but a little more impressive than from the NAM. And you have to double-check the NAM when it's out to 72 hours and beyond. It's only a mesoscale model based on observations from North America. The GFS is a global model that initializes with observations worldwide. 

The SREF is showing moderate instability similar to the GFS and sufficient low-level helicity to support organized severe weather in these parts on Tuesday night. This is valid at 10 PM. 

Looks like Supercell Composite values of about 3-6 and Significant Tornado Parameter values of about 1-2. So this setup does seem to favor a threat for large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes. 

The Storm Prediction Center has gone ahead and issued an enhanced 30% risk of organized severe weather for most of the Tennessee Valley for Tuesday/Tuesday night. It looks like initially storms may form as supercells that track from Central/Northern Mississippi into Tennessee and Northwest Alabama. And then as the evening/night goes on, those will likely form into either clusters or a squall line. Last night, I'd say the mode went from supercells (in Kentucky and such places, also back in Missouri) to a squall line to then breaking up into two clusters of storms. So the mode might be messy like that. But especially with any of the initial supercell thunderstorms, large hail may be the main threat. Could see really large hail up to the size of golfballs in some places. And then as the evening/night goes on, the damaging wind threat will likely ramp up. And there will be a chance of some of these storms producing a tornado. This could be a fairly significant severe weather setup for some of us in the region, and it is well worth watching. 

So Tuesday's forecast here: The day looks muggy and breezy, increasing clouds, could see scattered showers and storms during the day, about a 40% chance. Then showers and storms are likely at night, and some may be severe. Large hail is probably the main threat, but there is also a threat for damaging winds and/or isolated tornadoes. Some of these storms may still be supercells when they make it into North Alabama/Southern Middle Tennessee. Though as the night goes on, they'll probably form into at least clusters and maybe a squall line. 

Look for a High in the mid-to-upper-80's, a Low in the upper 60's. 

Then Wednesday looks mostly sunny with only an isolated shower possible in the morning, hanging around. The High should be in the upper 70's, the Low in the lower 60's. 

Mostly sunny again on Thursday with a High near 70, Low in the lower 50's. That is going to feel strange after our weather lately. You don't see that often in late May. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it may be September or October before we see more days like these in the extended forecast here. 

High pressure settles strongly into the region on Friday. Skies will be sunny, and the High should be in the lower 70's, the Low near 50 or perhaps even dipping into the upper 40's for some of us. 

The GFS has us still dry on Saturday, next weekend. 

The ECMWF shows more moisture able to creep back in here. I think it's closer to the truth this go-round. But I think the GFS also has the right idea with the high pressure system holding strong. I think as we get into late May and early June, we'll see a lot more of just typical summer weather patterns. 

The temperatures should rebound quickly, Highs in the upper 70's or even approaching 80 for some of us next Saturday. Looks like a Low in the lower 50's. 

The main time to watch is Tuesday evening and perhaps into the night, when that cold front starts to finally push through here. The National Weather Service in Huntsville pointed out something I overlooked, something really important: The large hail threat will likely be limited by a wet-bulb zero height of about 11,000-12,000 feet even at the times the instability is highest. And the tornado threat may be limited by high LCL heights. 

Even taking that into account, I'm going to mention that severe thunderstorms capable of all hazards are possible Tuesday evening/night - damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes. 

And any time we may be dealing with a couple of discrete supercells before the storms merge more into a line or two, or some clusters, then we have to watch things a little extra carefully. I'd err on the side of caution for Tuesday. We're nearly through with our severe weather season, less than two weeks left in it. And I'd like to see us make it through it without any problems like they had in places like Missouri and Kentucky. Some of those deaths might have been unavoidable, if they were from a really bad tornado where people didn't have adequate shelter; it's too soon to speculate much on that. But that does happen sometimes. But I know I read at least one report of some people being killed yesterday when the winds blew a tree down on a car. And that sort of thing is almost always avoidable. So let's be careful about Tuesday/Tuesday night. We are almost into the summer months. And between now and then, we have some lovely weather coming up in the extended forecast, later next week. 

Rainfall totals over the next week will average about a half-inch to one inch for most of us, but some folks, especially in Tennessee, could see closer to two inches. 

Buy Me a Coffee

If you'd like to support these weather blogging efforts, you can drop a dollar in the tip jar the link above. I've toyed with the idea of moving this over to Substack and/or maybe YouTube, but that's a long-term consideration. And frankly, I still often wonder if I'm insane for still doing this at all. My venture into college for meteorology was a long time ago and only lasted two years. But here we are. 

I've got a neighbor who is giving away about seven or eight kittens that she is barely able to care for, as she is having a lot of serious health problems. But she let her two female cats get knocked up by a wandering local tomcat. And she asked me to tell people online about these kittens. I think she might have already given one away, at least had a lady wanting to come look at them. They are about three months old. If you are interested in adopting one or even coming and checking them out, get in contact with me. And I'll put you in touch with her. Her only concern is that they get loving homes. She's only going to give them to people she is confident will actually take care of them. She's adopted lots of cats in the past that came from backgrounds of abuse. I got the honor of taming one of those. Hopefully we can find homes for these. 

On the human side of things, not related to weather, but related to public safety, please be careful at crosswalks. A lot of people don't watch out for pedestrians these days. When I first moved to where I live now, I made the mistake of crossing a busy intersection at night on the way home from walking to a bookstore. And even though I had the right of way, a guy came flying through a turn lane, slammed on his brakes a few feet way from me, and started cussing. So that was sort of a close call. That's the last time that's happened, many years ago now. I learned to be more careful. A lawyer even told me at another crosswalk to please watch these cars, because he knew how people drove around here; a lot of them just don't care. 

Unfortunately, a member of my family had a worse outcome recently. She and her best friend were taking a leisurely stroll across a crosswalk on their lunch break, I believe, and were hit by a pickup truck driver who, from what I gather, could not have been paying proper attention. I don't know the full details yet, and I know the case is being investigated. The head injuries were treatable, and nobody died from this or had permanent disability. Even the lady with a broken arm is just having to take things easy and have help with daily tasks that require the use of more than one hand. It could have gone a lot worse. But much like people being killed by falling trees in their vehicles, this is something I would like to see less of in the modern world. "Distracted driving", whether it comes from text messages or even something really old-fashioned like somebody being goofy and picking his nose or grabbing a chew of tobacco instead of watching the road, causes real problems. And when I was looking for this incident in the news, I was surprised at how many news stories I found from the past few years where pedestrians have actually been killed in such incidents. It is fairly common around here (meaning North Alabama/up into Tennessee, this general region). And there is no sense in it. Driving that way is as airheaded as staying in a mobile home during a tornado, when you have better shelter nearby. With the unfortunate side effect that the people who do it put other people in danger too. 

I like the idea of people taking leisurely walks and enjoying the kind of weather we'll have the latter half of next week . . . much better. 

P.S. Added Weatherbrains note at 6:53 PM after publishing post. I forgot to include it at first.