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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

Due to an update in the forecast for possible severe weather arriving earlier than originally thought today, Shelby County Schools has moved up its planned dismissal time of 1 p.m. to 11 a.m.

The announcement came from the school system around 7:20 a.m. Wednesday with the National Weather Service in Birmingham moving the timeline of approaching severe storms up to 1 p.m. and lasting through 4 a.m. Thursday morning.

The main risk with the storms is the potential for strong long-track tornadoes, damaging winds of up to 80 miles per hour and tennis-ball size hail.

With schools dismissing early, all after school and extracurricular activities, including sports, will be canceled as the school system takes precaution to keep students safe.