BIRMINGHAM, Alabama
Expect rain tonight and heavy showers Monday as slow-moving Tropical Storm Lee moves away from the Gulf Coast and heads northeast through Alabama.
Meteorologist Mark Linares of the National Weather Service said more severe conditions will start making their way into the Birmingham area Monday and could possibly continue into Wednesday.
"Because of it moving so slowly, it has the potential of dropping some heavy rains," Linares said. "We could see some flooding."
The weather service also issued a hazardous weather outlook for central Alabama, with the threat through Monday for isolated tornadoes within heavier rain bands, generally south of Interstate 20. Sustained winds of 15-20 mph with higher gusts are possible on Monday and Tuesday.
While the center of the storm and heavy rains remained far from the Birmingham area this evening, its promise of up to nine inches of rain over the next few days sparked a flash flood watch and the early closing of the Alabama State Fair.
The weather service has issued a flash flood watch in several north and central Alabama counties, including Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, St. Clair, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Talladega and Winston.
A small tornado spun off an outlying outer band of Tropical Storm Lee in Etowah County tonight, damaging the city hall in Rainbow City and knocking over trees, according to the weather service. Tornadoes spawned by the tropical storm were also reported in Mobile and Baldwin counties this morning, destroying two homes and damaging several others.
As seen in Rainbow City and south Alabama, the system is far reaching and has the potential to spawn tornadoes quickly, leaving little time for warnings, Linares said.
The tornadoes generated from tropical storms are typically small, nothing like many of those that developed out of Super Cell systems on April 27, but they can still be damaging and deadly, he said.
Tonight's low calls is expected to be around 70.
Monday's high will be near 77 and overnight low around 66.
Beginning Tuesday, the chance of rain begins to taper off, with forecasters calling for a 70 percent chance of rain, the possibility of a thunderstorm and a high near 75. Tuesday night, there will be a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low around 60.
By Wednesday, the chance of rain and thunderstorms drops to 30 percent, and the high is expected to be near 74. Overnight, there is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low around 61.
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