The radar information was ambiguous. Was the supercell thunderstorm west of Fort Worth capable of producing a tornado. Mike Foster, the forecaster responsible for the storm was desperately looking for ground truth, for spotter reports from the field in the vicinity of the storm that would indicate whether the storm was likely to produce a tornado. Most of the storm chasers that would normally be swarming all over the storm had been lured further north into Oklahoma, and were absent.

Was the storm accompanied by a lowering called a wall cloud? If so, was the wall cloud rotating? Without the information that he needed, Foster went on his own intuition to issue a tornado warning for Tarrant County. Fifteen minutes later, the storm produced an F3 tornado that struck the Fort Worth, TX metropolitan area directly just after the evening rush hour. The 35 story Bank One building suffered heavy damage, with most of its windows being blown out. Glass from several downtown buildings showered down on the streets below. Two people were killed by this tornado, including a heroic man who helped several people to shelter before he was killed. One man was reportedly killed by baseball sized hail.

That same day, another F3 tornado struck the Arlington, TX area. This twister moved along I-20, crossing over the interstate several times. $450 million in damage was tallied after the tornadoes. Foster would win the Special Prediction Award from the American Meteorological Society.

These Alabama counties are no longer under the Tornado Watch:

Blount
St. Clair
Etowah
Talladega
Coosa
Montgomery
Pike
Elmore

The line of showers (maybe even a thunderstorm) was right along the Alabama-Georgia border at 9 PM.

For all practical purposes, the long severe weather event is over for Alabama. Cheers!

Our long siege of being under the gun for a severe weather threat is about over...these late notes:

.....At 7:45 tonight, a long north-south line of showers and thunderstorms extended from near Guntersville southward to Gadsden, Talladega, Alexander City and Tuskegee.

.....I use the word "thunderstorms" even though there is very little lightning. It is mostly showers near a cold front moving quickly eastward.

.....The cold front has passed Huntsville, Cullman, Birmingham, Montgomery and was near Gadsden. West winds in the cooler air behind the front were gusting as high as 35 mph at Birmingham.

.....While a Tornado Watch continues till midnight over on the east side of the state, we can say that the weather is much quieter than this afternoon. No recent warnings although some flooding continues over some eastern counties.

.....Officially, in the last 24 hours 6.23 inches of rain at Auburn and 6.12 inches at Montgomery's Dannelly Field!

,,,,,Time to relax. I am at least 5 cups behind on my normal coffee quota for today. And I just gotta play with LMM (Little Miss Molly)

Life goes on. I, for one, am extremely happy that this was not a major severe weather episode. In fact, as soon as we started talking about a major threat, I said a silent prayer that it would not happen. Isn't that a strange business to be in--praying that you will be wrong?

Just a few quick notes...scan down for earlier information:

NEW LINE OF SHOWERS at 5:55 pm extended from Athens and Cullman south to just east of Birmingham and down to Clanton. These showers appear to be along a cold front sweeping east through the state. Virtually no lightning with these.

LOW PRESSURE CENTER now over NW Alabama, near Florence and it is pulling the cold front eastward. At 5 pm, cold front was near Birmingham and has passed Tuscaloosa. Brisk west winds along and behind the front. At 5 pm, it was 69 degrees in Birmingham but only 48 with a cold rain at Olive Branch, Miss., in NW corner of the state and also at Memphis Airport.

Tornado Watch till midnight over on the east side of the state. The stronger thunderstorms now from near Heflin SW to Montgomery area. A number of counties on the west part of the new Tornado Watch should be out of danger soon.

HOUR LONG STORM ALERT 2005 SPECIAL
It starts at 6 on ABC 33/40

The Tornado Watch expired at 5 pm, and the strong thunderstorm activity has moved over into East Alabama.

A new Tornado Watch is in effect but it is for the east side of the state. Jefferson/Tuscaloosa County not included. It actually includes Blount, Etowah, Talladega and St. Clair eastward although most of the stronger storms are now east of those areas also.

Hail the size of golf balls late this afternoon in the Leesburg-Sand Rock area of Cherokee County in NE Alabama. Quarter-size hail was covering the ground at Leesburg.

Don Strength, EMA Director for Roanoke reported street flooding late this afternoon with several roads closed in the Roanoke area.

WSFA-TV , Montgomery reports 4.54 inches of rain siince midnight. WAKA-TV reports 5.80 inches in the last 36 hours. Lots of flooding in these areas since late Saturday.

Still no confirmed reports of significant damage from a tornado reported on the ground in the Montgomery area.

Again, the long "under-the-gun" threat of severe weather is over for much of Alabama. Only the east side of the state has to stay alert.

SOME LATE NOTES ON SEVERE WEATHER

.....Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were posted for Walker, Cullman and Etowah, but no reports so far of damage. I talked to the EMA directors in Etowah, Walker, Cullman and Blount Counties. They report no known damage and no reports of large hail.

.....However, earlier marble-sized hail was reported on Strait Mountain along the Blount-St. Clair County line by Curtis Atkinson, a meteorologist visiting his family in the area.

.....Much of the action this afternoon has been around the Montgomery area where 1 or 2 tornadoes were observed on the ground. So far we don't have reports of confirmed damage, but those will probably follow later.

.....Much, much rain in parts of East Central and SE Alabama last night and again today. Flash Flood Warnings were posted this afternoon for Montgomery, Macon, Elmore and Chambers Counties. Last night as much as 6 inches of rain fell in some areas and more downpours today. There have been several reports of road closures this afternoon.

.....The Tornado Watch continues until 5:00 this afternoon. An up-to-the-minute radar check at 4:30 p.m. shows that most of the stronger storms have shifted over on the east side of the state. In the Birmingham-Tuscaloosa area and westward, there is very little going on now. Cooler and drier air was spreading into the western part of the state.

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings remain in effect for Etowah County until 4:15 and Cullman County until 4:15 also. The main threat from these storms will be large hail. Marble-sized hail was reported on Straight Mountain (Blount/St. Clair County Line) by Curtis Atkinson, a meteorologist from Blount County who is home visiting his family. That storm is now moving north and west of Gadsden and still may be producing hail.

The Severe Thunderstorm in Cullman County is west of downtown Cullman, and our Brian Peters is in place to intercept this cell on Exit 310 from I-65 (the Cracker Barrell exit). There have not been any reports of hail or damaging winds thus far, but we will hear from Brian soon if anything happens. That storm should stay just northwest of Cullman.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect for the eastern 3/4 of the state until 5:00 PM, but the greatest threat for tornadoes remains over the southern half of the state. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and especially large hail, though will affect parts of the Birmingham Metro area.

No new reports of damage from Montgomery yet. We hope that it stays that way!

At 3:19, a Montgomery television station reported two tornadoes on the ground near Mt. Meighs in east Montgomery. This tornado has affected parts of the Deer Creek Subdivision, and it is still on the ground now moving out of Montgomery.

We do not have any formal severe weather warnings up in our neck of the woods right now, but stronger storms are organizing in Walker County and Etowah County. The National Weather Service in Birmingham is now upgrading Etowah Co. to a Severe T-storm Warning. Remember that severe t-storms can and often do produce tornadoes with little or no advance warning!

We will be here watching it through the rest of the day!

The biggest storm of the day so far has been in the Montgomery area, right now a Tornado Warning is in effect for metro Montgomery. A tornado was reported around 2:42 at Hope Hull in Montgomery County. Elmore and Macon Counties are now under tornado warnings as this strong storm is now moving on to the east. Golfball to baseball-sized hail has been reported in the eastern end of Montgomery!

In Central Alabama, the radar is active but there is no severe weather as of now. Brian Peters is in Walker County right now in Storm Chaser 33/40, and he reports some sunshine 6 miles east of Jasper on US 78. That won't last long though! We will be in touch with Brian periodically as he gives us some reports from within the developing cells over North Central Alabama.

For the rest of the day, I still see the highest-risk area south of I-20 and east of I-65. That is the "highest" risk, but everone east of a line from Haleyville to Jasper to Tuscaloosa to Demopolis should be aware that a Tornado Watch is in effect until 5:00 PM, and the threat of severe weather is there for at least the afternoon hours, and it could last even after sunset tonight.

More to come...

Within the last half-hour, the upper level winds have picked up enough across northwestern Alabama to help sustain some heavy convective showers. These showers are not producing much lightning, which tells us they are not intense enough to produce large hail or high winds yet, and are thus not severe.

As this activity moves east, it will move into a more favorable environment for additional development within the next half hour and will have to be watched carefully. The strongest storm as of 2:06 was near Berry in Fayette County moving northeast into Walker County. Other cells are popping up north of Tuscaloosa along Alabama Highway 69.

A Tornado Watch is in effect until 5:00 PM, and the office is fully-staffed for the afternoon and evening. We will be watching the new development closely, and give you updates as new information comes out!

More to come...