A rainy weekend was in progress for many in Alabama on Saturday.
The National Weather Service has concerns about flooding in both north and south Alabama, where there are flash flood watches in effect.
And part of the Birmingham metro area is under a flash flood warning until after lunch.
Why all the rain? The remnants of Tropical Storm Nicholas is to blame, according to forecasters.
NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has all of the state in a slight risk for flash flooding today. A slight risk is Level 2 out of 4 levels:
The entire state of Alabama has a slight risk of flash flooding today. A slight risk is Level 2 out of 4 levels. More rain will be possible through the rest of weekend.
And the rainy pattern isn’t going anywhere fast. Expect high rain chances on Sunday as well and into the first part of next week.
Some parts of the state have already been doused with rain today.
The National Weather Service has a flash flood warning in effect for southwestern Tuscaloosa County -- including the city of Tuscaloosa -- until 2:45 p.m.:
Forecasters said slow-moving storms have dropped an estimated 2.5 and 3.5 inches of rain over that area, leading to concerns about flash flooding.
There are also three flash flood watches in effect, one for north Alabama, one for part of central Alabama and one for south Alabama.
The flash flood watch to the south covers Washington, Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties through this evening.
A flash flood watch for part of southwest Alabama will be in effect until Saturday evening.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain will be possible in those areas today.
The ground is already saturated across south Alabama from days of rain, so it won’t take much more to cause flooding, forecasters said.
A new flash flood watch, issued Saturday afternoon, covers a large chunk of central Alabama and will be in effect until 7 p.m. Sunday:
The counties in the central Alabama flash flood watch are: Cleburne, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry, Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Marengo, Dallas, Autauga, Lowndes, Elmore.
The National Weather Service in Birmingham said 1 to 3 inches of rain will be possible in the watch area through Sunday evening.
A third flash flood watch covers almost all of north Alabama, including Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson and DeKalb counties.
A flash flood watch will be in effect for most of north Alabama through this evening.
It will be in effect until 7 p.m. today, according to the National Weather Service in Huntsville.
The weather service said several rounds of rain and storms are expected to affect the area through the day.
Three to 4 inches of rain will be possible. And the rain may be heavy: The rainfall rate could possibly exceed 2 inches per hour, the weather service said.
Expect higher rain chances to stick around statewide through at least Wednesday. After that a cold front is expected to make its way into Alabama, which should bring cooler and drier air in its wake, forecasters said.
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