Confirmed Tornado Tracks Toward Bay Minette as Severe Storms Rake Baldwin County

A tornado was confirmed by radar over Baldwin County on Sunday afternoon, part of a wider outbreak of severe thunderstorms that put much of southwestern Alabama under warnings simultaneously, according to alerts issued by the National Weather Service in Mobile [2]. At 4:07pm CDT, the confirmed tornado was tracked 6 miles south of the intersection of I-65 and AL 225, or 7 miles west of Bay Minette, moving northeast at 20 mph, according to [2]. The warning stated the tornado would be near Bay Minette around 4:20pm CDT. The hazard was described as a "damaging tornado," with the source listed as radar-confirmed rather than a visual spotter report, according to [2]. The warning cautioned that flying debris would be dangerous to anyone caught without shelter, that mobile homes would be damaged or destroyed, and that damage to roofs, windows and vehicles, along with tree damage, was likely, according to [2]. The tornado formed amid a broader line of severe thunderstorms that generated multiple separate warnings across the region through the afternoon, according to [2]. East central Mobile County and west central Baldwin County were placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 4:30pm CDT, with a storm tracked 5 miles east of Chickasaw moving east at 15 mph and producing 60 mph wind gusts, threatening damage to roofs, siding and trees across Downtown Mobile, Prichard, Saraland, Chickasaw, Satsuma and nearby interstate corridors, according to [2]. A separate warning covered east central Baldwin County until 4:15pm CDT, with a storm 11 miles southwest of Molino nearly stationary and expected to remain over mainly rural areas, according to [2]. West central Mobile County was also warned until 4:45pm CDT for a storm parked over Mobile Regional Airport producing 60 mph gusts and penny-size hail, threatening Semmes, Tanner Williams and the airport itself, according to [2]. Further east, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect until 5:15pm CDT Sunday for Elberta, Perdido Beach and Lillian in southeastern Baldwin County, near the Alabama-Florida line, with forecasters warning of wind gusts up to 60 mph and penny-sized hail capable of damaging trees, power lines and unsecured outdoor objects, according to [1]. Residents in that warned area were urged to move indoors, stay away from windows and prepare for rapidly changing driving conditions including heavy rain and reduced visibility, according to [1]. The same alert stream from the Mobile weather service office also carried an Extreme Heat Warning and Heat Advisory for portions of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, with heat index values reaching up to 113 during the afternoon, according to [2]; that heat product is unrelated to the tornado and severe thunderstorm activity over Baldwin County but was issued through the same feed. Wayne, the material does not confirm whether the tornado caused injuries or damage on the ground in Bay Minette, nor does it give a formal touchdown time beyond the radar indication — that detail is unconfirmed pending any post-storm survey by the National Weather Service. What to watch next: whether the National Weather Service in Mobile upgrades this to a confirmed ground-truthed tornado with a damage survey, and whether any of the Baldwin County warnings are extended or cancelled as the storm line moves off toward Florida.