Potential Saturday storms prompt NWS statement
Published 3:08 pm Friday, April 23, 2010
The National Weather Service has issued a weather advisory for much of the state of Alabama for Saturday.
According to the advisory, tornadoes are possible across central Alabama on Saturday and Saturday night.
“A strong storm system will bring the possibility of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to central Alabama, starting Saturday morning in the west and lasting through midnight Saturday night in the east,” the advisory reads. “This has the potential to be a major tornado outbreak across all of central Alabama as well as a large portion of the Southeast.
“On top of this, there will be the threat of any tornado that forms to be rain-wrapped, which means it could be very difficult to see, even close up.”
A tornado watch is issued when conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop and people should prepare to take cover, should a tornado be sighted. A tornado warning means a tornado has been indicated either by an eyewitness or on weather radar and that people should take cover.
During this weather, people should activate their weather radios and pay attention to TV and radio reports throughout the day. People should have a plan of action in place, should a tornado watch or warning be issued. Plans may include taking cover in a basement or storm shelter or in the bathroom of a house or other room that consists of strong support and no windows, like a closet.
Other storm information and tornado plan suggestions can be found at this NOAA Web site: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html