Ever heard the expression “northwest flow, weatherman’s woe”?

Well, that will be the case for the next several days as Alabama faces the prospect of a parade of severe storms.

Damaging winds, hail, heavy rain and a tornado could be possible with the strongest storms, according to forecasters.

The weather pattern is set up to send batches of rain and storms toward Alabama from the northwest. Determining when and where those storm clusters are going to go can pose headaches for forecasters, especially on a holiday weekend when many Alabamians plan to be outdoors.

Storms were already moving across north Alabama on Saturday morning, and more will be possible this afternoon through the evening hours.

The National Weather Service said additional rounds of strong to severe storms will be possible on Sunday and also on Monday.

Forecasters think that severe weather could be the most likely on Sunday. However, the weather service said more storms could be possible going into Tuesday and even Wednesday. So far, however, confidence in that happening is not high enough to add severe weather into the forecast for those days.

Here’s a look at what’s expected over the next three days.

Saturday

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather for a sizable chunk of the state today (today’s outlook is at the top of this post).

A Level 2 risk means that scattered severe storms will be possible.

The weather service said damaging winds and hail are the main concerns, and the Storm Prediction Center has also added a low risk of a tornado.

Areas in the Level 2 risk include Florence, Decatur, Gadsden, Birmingham, Talladega, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa.

Most of the rest of Alabama, except for the southeast corner and the coast, has a Level 1 risk and could get isolated severe storms.

Storms were ongoing on Saturday morning in north and north-central Alabama and there were a few near the coast.

More could develop and intensify by the afternoon and into the evening hours, roughly from 1 p.m. until 11 p.m.

However, the weather service mentioned that the morning storms could help temper the atmosphere and prevent it from becoming more unstable this afternoon, thereby lessening the severe threat for some areas.

Sunday

Sunday will bring another Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather, and for a slightly larger part of Alabama.

Most of the northern half of Alabama will have a Level 2 risk on Sunday, and the rest of the state — except the southwest corner — will have a Level 1 risk.

The weather service said clusters of rain and storms are expected to move into Alabama from the northwest on Sunday.

Forecasters added that the exact timing is uncertain but the most likely time for storms will again be during the afternoon and evening hours.

The weather service said there isn’t expected to be a morning round of storms to take the juice out of the atmosphere on Sunday, and that could lead to conditions being more favorable for storms to develop and strengthen during the afternoon.

Monday

The Storm Prediction Center has added a Level 1 out of 5 risk for most of Alabama for Monday.

Only extreme north and extreme south Alabama are not in the Level 1 risk for Monday, but those areas could also get rain and storms. However, organized severe weather is not expected there.

A Level 1 risk means isolated severe storms will be possible.

Damaging winds and hail will be the main hazards, but the weather service also mentioned that flooding could become a concern after several days of rain and storms.

Next week

The weather service said additional rounds of rain and storms, possibly strong to severe storms, could be possible Tuesday and even Wednesday.

However, that’s not a sure thing yet.

So far the Storm Prediction Center has not added any severe weather risks to the forecast for Alabama beyond Monday.

Here’s more from the weather service:

North Alabama

Central Alabama