Quick Update: Alabama Tornado Outbreak Really Bad; Couple Updates For Us In Vermont, Too

This house collapsed during a tornado southeast of 
Birmingham, Alabama today. It's one of many homes
wrecked by an ongoing severe tornado outbreak.
Occupants of this house heard tornado warnings,
took shelter in the basement and were rescued.

 It's turning out to be a terrible day in Alabama, with many reports of large, damaging tornadoes. Some of them are hitting highly populated areas. Early forecasts turned out to be correct.  

Television station ABC33/40 in Birmingham has already confirmed three deaths from tornadoes in the town of Ohatchee.

 One tornado swept through subdivisions just southeast of Birmingham earlier this afternoon. By late afternoon, another confirmed tornado was tearing through northeastern part of Birmingham proper. 

The earlier tornado near Birmingham literally hit home for ABC33/40 meteorologist James Spann.  

Spann is one of the nation's leading experts on tornadoes and is beloved in Alabama.  His relentless, plain spoken broadcasts during tornadoes have saved many lives.

Spann was on the air describing the warnings as usual when he stepped off camera, having another meteorologist take over. He was soon back with this scary explanation:

"The reason I had to step out, we had major damage at my house......My wife is OK, but the tornado came right through there and it's not good, it's bad. It's bad."

With that, Spann went back to keeping up with the tornado warnings and alerting viewers to all the danger areas.  

As I write this at 6 p.m. Thursday evening, tornadoes are on going in and around Alabama and that is expected to continue through the evening. 

Details on what damage they are causing are still not in. But radar images suggest very large, intense, long lasting tornadoes. 

I'll certainly have an update in tomorrow morning's post. 

VERMONT IMPACTS

As expected, we experienced record high temperatures today.  That storm that's affecting the South is still headed our way.

The forecast for the morning part of the storm is still the same: We should get a few hours of moderate or even briefly heavy rain.  

Not something you ever see in March until now. NOAA's 
Storm Predicting Center has a very, very low, but not
zero chance of a brief tornado in and near Vermont
Friday afternoon.

Then there's a break while we wait for the afternoon cold front with this storm.  Next, we have an interesting twist. 

 NOAA's Storm Prediction Center as of this evening has Vermont, eastern New York and extreme western New Hampshire under a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms Friday afternoon. 

A marginal risk is the lowest level of five categories and means isolated severe thunderstorms are possible. We have marginal risks relatively frequently in the summer, but it's rare in March.

But wait! There's more! 

The Storm Prediction Center also says that there is a very, very low, but not zero chance of a brief tornado in Vermont. 

It's doubtful one will happen but you never know.  We do see those minimal risks for twisters once or twice a year in the late spring and summer. But I've never heard of this in March! 

The main threat from any thunderstorms that develop tomorrow will be isolated damaging wind gusts. Nothing widespread.

I'll have much more in tomorrow morning's post.