The potential for severe weather — and tornadoes — is increasing for Alabama today, according to the National Weather Service.

Storms were moving into west Alabama as of 7:30 a.m., and the threat will spread eastward during the day as a strong cold front moves through the state.

Tornadoes, wind gusts up to 70 mph and hail will all be possible with today’s storms. And they will be moving quickly, too, which may increase the threat for damaging winds.

A tornado watch has been issued for part of Alabama and will be in effect until 1 p.m.:

The north Alabama counties in the watch are Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall and Morgan.

The central Alabama counties in the watch are Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Coosa, Etowah, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Perry, Pickens, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center said a few tornadoes are “likely” in the watch area, which also includes smaller parts of Mississippi and Tennessee. A “couple of intense” tornadoes will also be possible.

Winds could gust as high as 75 mph, and there could be hail up to 1.5 inches.

The SPC said a broken band of storms has formed ahead of the cold front in Mississippi and is expected to intensify today will heading into Alabama. The more intense storms could generate tornadoes, and the threat for hurricane-force winds will increase through the day.

The SPC has added a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe weather today for a large part of Alabama. A Level 3, or enhanced, risk, means that numerous severe storms will be possible. (See the map at the top of this post.)

Forecasters at the SPC said the Level 3 severe weather risk was added today for the threat for damaging winds — which could gust as high as 75 mph (that’s hurricane force).

Here is the latest:

7:16 a.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning, the first of the day, has been issued for central Lauderdale and northwestern Colbert counties until 7:45 a.m.:

As of 7:14 p.m. the storm was located near Cherokee and was moving northeast at 55 mph.

From earlier this morning:

Here’s the outlook for severe wind gusts today:

The National Weather Service cautioned that the threat for tornadoes has gone up with the latest forecast updates because more wind shear could develop than previously expected.

Here is the tornado outlook for Alabama for today:

It will also be windy today, even away from storms. The entire state will be under a wind advisory today. Non-thunderstorm winds could be sustained from 20-30 mph and could gust as high as 40 mph, the weather service said.

Forecasters were watching strong storms to the west of Alabama in Mississippi, and the weather service in Birmingham estimated that they should reach the state line after 8 a.m.

The storms and cold front are expected to move out of Alabama tonight. Temperatures will plummet behind the front, and it could be cold enough to squeeze out a few snow flurries overnight in parts of north and north-central Alabama, the weather service said.

The weather service in Huntsville said areas in northeast Alabama — mainly in higher terrain — could see some accumulation and travel issues. However, no impacts are expected for the rest of the state, according to the weather service in Birmingham.

Here’s what the National Weather Service offices across Alabama were thinking about today’s severe threat:

NORTH ALABAMA:

CENTRAL ALABAMA:

SOUTHWEST ALABAMA:

SOUTHEAST ALABAMA: