we 31 storm tracker meteorologist Grace anello with 31 triple Doppler well Grace tropical storm Francine is something y'all have been tracking all week and it seems like it is calming down a bit but what do we need to be prepared for here yeah so you hit the nail on the head started as tropical storm friend scene on Monday upgraded to eventually Category 2 100 mph Hurricane by the time it made landfall yesterday now back to a tropical storm and just in the last hour has lost 5 mph of speed so it is definitely losing some of its strength however let's keep in mind it started from being a cat too so even losing strength is still quite strong and we do have a 31 alert day in place today as a result of that so things are getting better but we still have a full day of active weather ahead of us before all is said and done now our 31 alert day is in effect all day ahead of strong to severe storms our greatest threats are Gusty wind torrential rain and a low-end tornado threat so here's what we're seeing right now 448 on near Thursday and 31 triple Doppler showing widespread rain not just in Alabama but all across the Twin States now the rain we're seeing right now in the Tennessee Valley is very light it's uh keep your windshield wipers on low kind of rain as we head through the rest of the afternoon we're going to see pockets of stronger rain come into the forecast and a few thunderstorms by lunchtime then by dinner time tonight that's when we'll see the strongest of the stormy weather today right now this is Francine sitting just in Southern Mississippi spinning at 45 mph it will continue to track North through Central Mississippi eventually arcing West making its way towards Memphis so we're not getting the brunt of the storm but we're still in a severe weather risk all of us in a level one out of five today are far Southern counties in a level two out of five and rather than just take you through map through map through map showing that your county is highlighted we're also watching a heat uh wind advisory today from 7:00 a.m. this morning until 7:00 a.m. Friday that's had a 40 to 45 mph wind gust so if you have plants outside that you put out for fall if you have pumpkins if you have outdoor decorations a wreath a pillow on the front porch take that in now because your property in 45 mph winds is going to end up on somebody else's property additionally new this morning we have a flood watch in effect right now through 7:00 a.m. on Saturday some of us who do see a stronger thunderstorm or two you could see ponding on your roads and that's why that watch is in place reminder a warning is more serious than a watch so that flood watches the lower level they're just telling you generally keep an eye out for some ponded roadways in areas that do see those thunderstorms all right let's walk you through future radar 8: a.m. today we're looking at a whole lot of rain quite similar to what we have right now one or two pockets of stronger rain but we're commuting to school and to work without a threat for severe weather I want to make that clear on your way into the office today no severe weather threat 10:30 this morning though we start to welcome in a few of those stronger thunderstorms the rain we're seeing becoming heavier and the thunderstorms we're seeing becoming more widespread by lunchtime this afternoon we kind of see a little bit of a lull and then later this evening this is 5:00 when you're heading home that's when we start to see some of those strong storms develop those are west of I65 at 5:00 p.m. but look what happens as we head later into the evening this is 7:30 tonight that line in the shs becomes more developed it continues to track east of I65 impacting everywhere from Coleman all the way up to decar Gunnersville Huntsville and into fville by midnight tonight midnight so that means as you're heading to bed these strong storms are still moving through that's why it is crucial that you download the way31 storm tracker weather app so if a uh severe thunderstorm or tornado warning is issued we can alert you and wake you up right away so you can stay safe we'll see it diminish as we head into the we hours of the morning 5:30 on Friday it's isolated rain but more of that is going to come strong storms are coming on Friday what are we going to see today most of us 1 to 2 Ines of rain those pockets of heavier thunderstorms could see over 4 in of rain tomorrow another level one out of five risk issued in the Tennessee Valley those strong to severe storms starting in the morning sticking with us a little sporadically in the afternoon and then becoming significantly more widespread on Friday evening and sticking around into bedtime as well so a lot going on but our team has you covered I can promise you that so it's a 31 alert day today a level one out of five risk for strong to severe storms tomorrow a little bit of rain continuing this weekend and then next Wednesday we're Sunny yeah well people definitely need to be sure to stick with us throughout the day yall are going to have updates for us and keep us on track and we're going to be here the whole time even on air starting at 10:00 a.m. we're going to be here at the top of every hour giving you a live update absolutely thank you Grace