PANAMA CITY, Fla. WEATHER (WMBB) — A tornado watch has been extended across the Florida Panhandle until 11 a.m. CST Wednesday.
The Storm Prediction Center has issued a slight risk of severe weather impacts across our viewing area, stretching from Santa Rosa County east towards Gulf, Liberty, and Leon counties.
A slight risk is a 2 out of 5 on the severe weather outlook scale. This means the region can expect thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, gusts above 58 mph, and a few isolated tornadoes.
Timing of the line of storms is expected to start on the western side of the Panhandle after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. As the line of thunderstorms pushes into Walton and Holmes County it is forecasted to stay strong to severe.
By the mid-morning, as the line shifts into Bay, Washington, Jackson, and Calhoun counties some weakening is possible, but the risk of damaging winds and isolated tornadoes will persist.
More substantial weakening should occur later in the morning, as the squall exits east near Gulf County and past the Apalachicola River.
As the front passes, sustained wind speeds will be breezy to gusty in most places. Within the passage of strong to severe storms gusts over 60 mph are possible.
The line will move quickly, with rainfall totals expected between 0.5-2″ possible.