textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1107 AM CDT Thu Oct 8 2026

- Hurricane Isaias will make landfall on the Gulf coast late Friday night and bring high chances for impactful gusty winds up to 50 mph, a medium chance for tornadoes, and a medium chance for flash flooding Saturday morning through Saturday evening.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of Today and Tonight) Issued at 1107 AM CDT Thu Oct 8 2026

Another lovely day will unfold today as weak surface high pressure to our northeast will keep winds light and skies clear. Temperatures already in the mid to upper 70s as of 10 AM will result in high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s this afternoon. Stronger moisture advection from the Gulf ahead of Hurricane Isaias will bring overnight lows a little warmer than this morning, into the upper 50s to low 60s.

SHORT TERM

(Friday through Sunday) Issued at 1107 AM CDT Thu Oct 8 2026

Attention rapidly turns southward as we head into Friday. Hurricane Isaias is currently forecast to make landfall somewhere along the MS/AL/FL coastline. The TN Valley will see clouds streaming in on Friday, particularly in Northeast AL, and the increased pressure gradient will cause winds to occasionally gust up to 20-25 mph, particularly heading into Friday evening. Cloud cover will result in a pretty stark difference in high temperatures Friday, with Northwest AL again peaking in the upper 80s and those under persistent clouds sticking closer to 80, if not the upper 70s. Other features of focus will be the longwave trough to our west that will have a shortwave taking on a negative tilt this weekend as Isaias approaches.

For now, we do not anticipate the initial rain bands to move in until late Friday evening into the overnight period. This is where the specific landfall location of Isaias can bring fairly significant changes in impacts and locations. From here on out, I'll break the AFD into specific tropical threats in order of concern for our area at this point in the forecast process.

Wind: Isaias will be rapidly progressing inland on Saturday. As it moves over or near the TN Valley, we anticipate wind gusts up to 50 mph area-wide. High terrain regions of northeast AL will be particularly vulnerable. The latest forecast has moved the path of the center of Isaias from northwest AL into northeast MS, which will bring the more intense wind field on the east side of the system over more of the TN Valley. The plan is for a wind-related headline to be out for the whole area later this afternoon after coordination with several other offices.

Tornadoes: Due to the slight westward shift of the track, more of the rain bands will progress over our area. The tornado threat would begin early Saturday morning when the first bands approach. This threat would continue through Saturday evening until the remnants of Isaias progress out of the area. The fly in this ointment is as the approaching shortwave trough phases with Isaias. There is a low chance that this may stall over the TN Valley, which would prolong the tornado threat. There is a medium to high chance at least portions of our area will be in a tornado watch on Saturday.

Flooding: Tropical systems bring intense rain rates, and north- south oriented rain bands will result in wide varaibility in rain totals across the TN Valley. Broad swaths up to 3-4" are in the current forecast with a low chance of high end swaths up to 5-7" in areas that see multiple tropical bands. A flood watch for flash flooding has been issued that encompasses this threat, please see that for more details.

LONG TERM

(Sunday Night through Wednesday) Issued at 922 PM CDT Wed Oct 7 2026

In wake of the system, winds will subside Sunday into Sunday night, with high pressure building in during the early to middle part of next week. This will again result in beautiful autumn weather across the region for mid October. With ample sunshine and dry conditions highs will return to the 80s and overnight lows drop into the 50s.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1211 PM CDT Thu Oct 8 2026

VFR conditions prevail through the TAF period. Moderate winds near 10 kts from the southeast will impact both terminals starting tomorrow morning as Isaias progresses closer.

HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

AL...Flood Watch from late Friday night through Sunday morning for ALZ001>010-016.

High Wind Watch from Saturday morning through Sunday morning for ALZ001>010-016.

TN...Flood Watch from late Friday night through Sunday morning for TNZ076-096-097.

High Wind Watch from Saturday morning through Sunday morning for TNZ076-096-097.