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