The tornado that passed northern Tuscaloosa County and north of Birmingham in Alabama (significant damage in Center Point, Clay, Trussville etc.), has been rated an EF-3.

Strong thunderstorms and tornadoes hit parts of Alabama last night. There are reports of major structural damage and many injuries. Northern Tuscaloosa and Jefferson Counties in West Central Alabama were seriously affected! Fore more information, please visit ABC 33/40 and the ABC 33/40 Weather Blog. Yahoo News: An emergency management spokesman says more than 100 people have been injured in central Alabama by a line of storms that also killed at least two as it moved across the Southern States.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has updated the “Moderate Risk” for later today and tonight for parts of Northwest and West Alabama, North Mississippi, West Tennessee and East Arkansas. Within the moderate risk, there is a chance of a couple of long track tornadoes. This includes the Cities of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Jackson MS and Memphis.

There is a Moderate Risk for parts of AR, TN, MS and AL, including the City of Memphis. The weather conditions are favorable for tornadic supercells later today!

A tornado watch has been issued for the NW counties of Alabama. Increasing instability values and a nice LLS are favorable for convection and isolated tornadoes over night. Hopefully this will weaken within the morning hours?! But with the heating of the day, the instability increases again over Central and Southeastern Alabama.

Freezing rain this morning in SW Germany.

Looking south from the Swabian Jura in SW Germany to the Swiss Alps. You can see the Säntis (2502 m), the tallest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland.