Sheriff Gene Scarbrough swore in two new Deputies today. From left to right: Deputy James Storms & Deputy Johnny Jackson.
Good Wednesday morning,
The most significant adjustment since Tuesday's briefings is a quicker arrival for a first round of severe thunderstorms over our Central Time Zone Counties. This first round will now arrive this afternoon.
The bigger severe event is still expected later tonight into Thursday morning.
Otherwise, expectations remain the same for this multi-hazard event.
Bottom Line:
A multi-hazard weather event is coming up on Wednesday Night and Thursday.
Most notably there is now an Enhanced Risk (Level 3 of 5) of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday Night over the Florida Panhandle and Southeast Alabama.
A Moderate Risk (Level 3 of 4) of Excessive Rainfall continues in Southeast Alabama and part of Southwest Georgia.
Hazards include:
Severe Thunderstorms Heavy, flooding rain Strong wind over land Minor Coastal Flooding around Apalachee Bay Life-threatening High Surf at the beaches Gales over the Gulf waters
Bottom Line:
Severe thunderstorms remain possible from late tonight through Wednesday morning.
A Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe storms remains in place for Southeast Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, all of Southwest Georgia, and most of the Florida Big Bend region.
All types of severe weather are possible with this event. This includes a few tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind gusts.
Overview:
A broken line of thunderstorms will move southeast out of Central Alabama late this evening, reaching the Alabama Wiregrass sometime between late this evening and the wee hours of Wednesday morning. This line will continue to move southeast across our Georgia and Florida counties during the pre-dawn hours Wednesday morning, finally exiting past the Lower Suwannee Valley late Wednesday morning.
The line of thunderstorms will be broken, increasing potential for embedded discrete supercell thunderstorms. If the weather evolves this way, then it would increase tornado potential during the overnight hours. Some guidance shows strengthening of the line in the middle of the night as it passes across Southwest Georgia and the Florida Big Bend region.
We'll want to message this as a nighttime severe weather event that includes possible tornadoes. It will be important to stress people having multiple ways to get warnings, including ways that will wake you up at night. Some additional messaging graphics are attached.
Attention!!
Phone scams and door-to-door scams are in full swing all over. Do not reveal any personal or financial information to anyone over the telephone. The Tift County Sheriff's Office does not solicit the collection of fines in lieu of being arrested.
Common signs of phone scams include high pressure to provide funds in lieu of arrest or to receive a larger prize. The caller will request payment oftentimes via prepaid cards (ie. Green Dot, Apple Pay, Google Pay). They will walk you through the process of purchasing the cards and then will request the numbers from the back of the card to "verify that the funds are present". Once the scammer gets those numbers your money is gone.
Anyone that solicits sales or services door-to-door in Tift County is required to obtain a permit from the Tift County Sheriff's Office. This process is to ensure that the individuals and businesses are operating in accordance with State law and County ordinance.
When in doubt, call 911 and request assistance.
Stay alert and stay safe.
Tiftarea Academy 5th graders graduated today from the Sheriff's Office C.H.A.M.P.S., Choosing Healthy Activities & Methods Promoting Safety, program. The 12 week class has lesson plans ranging from Internet Safety & Social Media, leader and followers, drugs, peer pressure and understanding and avoiding violence.
Harlee Osborne was selected as the C.H.A.M.P.S. student of the year while Eli Callison won the poster & essay contest with Paul Fullwood 2nd and Jaycee Powell 3rd.
Sheriff's Office Sgt.'s Senida Gonzalez & Yuriana Vazquez are the C.H.A.M.P.S. instructors.
5th graders at Northside Elementary School graduated today from the 12 week C.H.A.M.P.S., Choosing Healthy Activities & Methods Promoting Safety, class taught by Tift County Sheriff's Deputies, Sgt. Senida Gonzalez & Sgt. Yuriana Vazquez.
Yandi J. Trujillo was selected as Student of the Session while Damon C. Cruz was the winner of the Poster & Essay contest. Tiana R. Garcia finished second in the Poster and Essay contest while Ivan Antunez was third.
Subject matter in the class range from bullying, gangs, violence, peer pressure and their choices and consequences to outdoor activities, water safety and ATV safety.
Sheriff Gene Scarbrough swore in new Deputy Lance Morris today.
The potential for strong to severe thunderstorms continues from tonight into Saturday. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are possible. In addition, a flood watch has also been issued for portions of southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia due to the potential for flash flooding from multiple rounds of thunderstorms tonight into Saturday.
Tonight thru Early Saturday Morning prior to 7 am ET:
Slight Risk (level 2 of 5)of severe weather Slight Risk (level 2 of 4)of Excessive RainfallSaturday morning after 7 am ET through the day
Slight Risk (level 2 of 5)of severe weather Marginal Risk (level 1 of 4)of Excessive Rainfall OverviewAn area of low pressure will develop to our west and will slowly move east to northeast today. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to move in tonight and then continue through the day on Saturday. Damaging wind gusts are the main threat with a few tornadoes also possible. Pockets of heavy rain are also likely with the heaviest amounts expected to fall in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia within the area outlined by the flood watch. Localized amounts of 3 to 5 inches in a short period of time may lead to instances of flash flooding in those areas.