Your Thursday is starting off on a muggy but dry note. Temperatures across the area this morning are hovering right around 70 degrees. A few isolated showers are possible as we go through the morning hours, but most will stay dry. That changes later on this afternoon. With plenty of humidity combined with warming temperatures into the mid 80s this afternoon, expect more showers and thunderstorms to develop as early as lunchtime today. Much of North Alabama is under and Isolated risk to see strong to severe storms this afternoon and evening. Frequent cloud to ground lightning along with heavy rain and gusty winds are possible with the strongest storms we see today. While the severe weather potential is not too high, the coverage of showers and storms this afternoon will be higher compare to yesterday. Keep this in mind if you have any outdoor plans later on today. Stay weather aware and stay with WAAY 31 for updates on air and online throughout the day.

Another big weather headline this morning is Tropical Storm Cristobal. Cristobal is still meandering in the Yucatan Peninsula this morning and will continue to do so for another 24-36 hours before finally beginning its journey north across the Gulf of Mexico. The latest track from the National Hurricane Center has Cristobal making landfall Sunday night along the Louisiana coast with around 60 mile per hour winds. While the bulk of Cristobal's impacts will stay west of our area, we will continue to monitor the potential for heavy rainfall with the remnants of Cristobal early next week here at home. Nonetheless, if you have any travel plans to the Gulf Coast this weekend, be prepared for heavy rain and gusty winds. Over 5 inches of rain is currently forecast for Gulf Shores.