Mobile city and county officials issued emergency notices on Monday, shutting down buildings and non-emergency services early and ahead of inclement weather that is expected to arrive later this evening.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson declared a civil emergency in the City of Mobile from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The emergency declaration allows the mayor’s office to approve contracts for “necessary items” without having to advertise for bids.

Stimpson’s office said that city offices are set to reopen at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the warning, all non-emergency city offices will be closed for the rest of Monday, including recycling centers on Museum Drive and Pinehill Drive.

The Mobile County Commission, earlier Monday, declared a state of emergency, which closes Mobile’s Government Plaza and all county commission offices at 3 p.m. Government Plaza will reopen for regular business hours on Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service in Mobile, severe storms are possible tonight as an intense squall moves east through the area. Damaging winds over 70 mph and tornadoes are the main threats, with stronger tornadoes possible in some areas of our community.

The City of Mobile’s public safety and public services crews are on standby to respond to damage caused by the storms. The city encourages anyone to reach the Mobile Police Department’s Non-Emergency line at (251) 208-7211 to report downed trees or power lines, water over the roadway or traffic signal outages after regular business hours.

The city is encouraging anyone who sees a downed tree or power line to stay 30 to 50 feet away. Updates from the City of Mobile will be made on its social media sites.

Mobile County officials will also be closely monitoring the weather and should any additional announcements need to be made, employees will be notified via email and posts will be made on the Mobile County’s official social media platforms (@MobileCountyAL).