Tornadoes, hail possible for Shelby County; UM closes

Published 2:24 pm Monday, April 4, 2011

By STAFF REPORTS

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Shelby County. The outlook said a strong cold front would bring a significant severe weather threat to central Alabama this afternoon and evening.

A tornado watch remains in effect for Shelby and surrounding counties until 11 p.m. CDT tonight.

“All severe weather threats are likely, including the threat for damaging straight-line winds, large hail, isolated tornadoes and brief locally heavy rainfall,” the report stated.

Also, supercells with a strong threat of tornadoes and large hail are possible from around 2 p.m. through midnight. Strong gradient winds are possible with gusts up to 40 miles per hour.

A light frost is possible across central Alabama, and a few locations could drop to near the freezing mark overnight.

The University of Montevallo campus has closed due to the weather front. In addition, Southeastern Bible College closed its campus for the day at 4 p.m. on Monday.