By 10:30 tonight, thunderstorms had greatly decreased with the main one remaining over Jefferson County producing locally heavy rain but not severe. Showers extended from Birmingham eastward to Anniston.

At 10:22 pm, Dick Bell reported from Adamsville that moderate to heavy rain had been falling for the last 35 minutes with almost constant cloud to ground lightning.

Some more reports from the North Alabama afternoon and evening storms:

.....At Snead, in North Blount County where U.S. 278 intersects with state route 75, lightning struck the Baptist Health Center causing some structural damage.

.....Several trees uprooted across Blount County.

.....In Lawrence County, several transformers were struck by lightning at Moulton resulting in power outages.

.....In Cullman County, numerous trees were uprooted along U. S. 231 in the eastern part of the country near Joppa.

This will probably be our last update tonight since storms have diminished. But we will be here in case of another flareup.

Life goes on.....

On an inclement day in the South, it is not uncommon to hear people quoting folklore in an effort to predict the weather. Before the professional methods of meteorology were developed, people relied simply on their observations. These observations not only included watching the sky but also keeping an eye on animals, plants, or planets. Some require specific calculations. Others are remembered by the clever rhyming of the rule. Regardless of their structure, these sayings will leave you wondering: Does this really work?

When the rooster goes crowing to bed, he will rise with a watery head.

When the sun sets bright and clear, an easterly wind you need not fear.

When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.

The higher the clouds, the finer the weather.

When the clouds appear like towers, the Earth is refreshed by frequent showers.

Smorgasbord of clouds? Expect rain or snow.

Count the number of times a cricket chirps in 14 seconds and add forty to get the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

A red sky at morning is a sailor’s warning. A red sky at night is a sailor’s delight.

Ring around the moon? Rain real soon.

Rain foretold, long last. Short notice, soon will pass.

Some of these weather sayings have been around for generations, whether true or not. A few sound outrageous while others seem practical. On Wednesday, I will post a BLOG telling my discoveries after investigating these old fashioned weather methods.

-Jennifer Hitt (ABC 33/40 Weather Intern)

Interesting little event still im progress at 8:45 tonight.

While all of the North Alabama storms have been moving south, a small stray thunderstorm well to the south has been moving toward the WNW across Extreme South Tallapoosa County.

Set off by outflow boundry from this afternoon's south-moving storm that produced some hail in Calhoun County near Anniston/Oxford?

Don't know...but could be.

An outflow boundry will park somewhere overnight in Central Alabama from the North Alabama storms. Such small-scale features can affect the next day's weather and tough to forecast.

.....At 8:05 pm, two uprooted trees were blocking U. S. 278 near Blount County Road 38. Power outages also reported in the area.

.....At 7:40 pm, hail one inch in diameter west of Arab in Marshall County.

.....Earlier, NWS employee reported gust to 60 mph NE of Huntsville.

.....Some of the stronger storms missed the reporting rain gages. Based on radar estimates, over three inches of rain fell in some spots in NE Alabama. Actual measurement of 0.59 at DeSoto State Park, Dekalb County.

.....Overall, Blount County storm seems to be going down in strength. Could be temporary.

A number of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings late this afternoon and evening in North Alabama.

The latest is a warning for Blount County in North Central Alabama until 8:35 pm. Shortly after 8, the group of thunderstorms was near the north tip of Blount County moving south.

Will affect such places as Snead, Susan Moore, Cleveland, Oneonta, Blountsville, Locust Fork and Smoke Rise.

Overall, the thunderstorms have diminished but this particular cluster remains strong to severe.

Madison County under the gun. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for East Madison County until 7 pm, and another warning for West Madison County until 7:30. A bit confusing.

NWS employee reported gusts to 60 mph about five miles NE of Huntsville.

The Flash Flood Warning continues until 9 pm for Jackson County.

Hail one inch in diameter reported by trained storm spotter at Trenton, Jackson County at 5:40 pm. Trenton is located up the beautiful Paint Rock River Valley.

Some rainfall totals later. Doppler estimates show over three inches in some areas.

What about Birmingham?

These storms are 60 or more air miles north of Birmingham and should weaken or fizzle before reaching this area.

Famous last words...

This one is a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Morgan County in Extreme North Alabama. The storm was centered near Trinity and moving south toward Decatur.

These storms keep forming and moving slowly south. Jackson County has experienced about four Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in the last few hours. Now, a Flash Flood Warning has been posted for that county until 9 tonight.

Very heavy rain was falling near Skyline. The thunderstorm was drifting toward the SW.

The NWS in Huntsville issued another Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Jackson County, in extreme NE Alabama until 6 pm.

Another Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Lawrwncw County in NW Alabama until 6. It was moving south toward Moulton.

In NE Alabama, still another warning for West Central Cherokee County until 6 . They were all moving southward.

Video map discussion for Monday afternoon, June 20th, should be available at: http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

I start the video with a beautiful image of a waterspout over Mobile Bay taken last Friday by Sandy Santoli. Great picture!!

Not much change in the weather pattern as the big high to our west inches closer and overpowers the pattern across the southeastern United States. So we stay essentially dry for much of the next seven days. Sure glad we got some rain from Arlene. Grass watering looks to be in my future! And temperatures keep climbing with highs in the lower 90s by the latter part of the week.

The east coast trough pulls out to the northeast according to the GFS. However, the GFS leaves a small remnant behind that can be identified in the GFS forecasts all the way out beyond a week. It will be interesting to see if the GFS is correct with that feature. I must admit that it seems a little strange to be able to identify that feature that far into the future, but stranger things have happened.

Hope you've had a good Monday. I'm still recovering from a great City Stages weekend. The weather sure was spectacular for the festival.

-Brian-

A cluster of strong thunderstorms moved southward into NE Alabama this afternoon. The NWS Huntsville issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Jackon County in the NE corner of Alabama until 4:45. The storm was moving southward toward Bridgeport, Stevenson and Russell Cave National Monument.

Further south, a strong thunderstorms, relatively small was moving through the Anniston-Oxford area. The WTDR-FM Newsroom reported marble size hail at Coldwater just before 4:40 pm.

The NWS, Birmingham, posted a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 5 pm for South Central Calhoun County and NE Talladega County because of that storm.