Scattered storms are possible late this afternoon and into the evening for areas along and north of I-20, with the strongest storms most likely to form in northwest Alabama between 2 p.m. CDT and 7 p.m. CDT. The main concerns are damaging winds up to 60 mph, frequent lightning and heavy rain.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed northern Cullman, northern Blount, Etowah and Cherokee counties under a slight risk, or threat level 2 out of 5, while areas along and north of I-20 and I-22 remain in a marginal risk at threat level 1 out of 5. That is the part of the forecast that matters today: isolated showers were reported Sunday morning, but the afternoon and evening may turn more active once the atmosphere has had time to build and the cold front starts pushing southeast into Alabama.

For people watching Philadelphia Weather, the bigger question is not whether rain shows up somewhere, but how much of it reaches each county before dark. The forecast points to scattered storms rather than a solid line, which means some spots could get a quick downpour while others stay mostly dry. For the Birmingham area, the late-day rain amount is not pinned to a single exact number; the best way to read the forecast is that any storm that does form could dump a brief, heavy burst before moving on.

That window should not last all night. Storms that develop are expected to push to the southeast and weaken after sunset, which fits the usual decline in daytime heating once the sun goes down. Without that added heat, storms lose some of the lift that helps them grow, so the late-day threat should fade even if showers continue to dot the region.

Rain is not going away after that. Showers return Monday and Tuesday as the cold front stalls across Alabama, and the greatest chance for heavy rainfall and isolated flooding will likely come south of I-20 Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures should also trend cooler, with highs in the lower 80s, while rainfall totals north of I-20 through Tuesday are expected to stay near a quarter of an inch to a half inch. South of I-20, 1-2 inches of rain remain possible.

The pattern stays wet into the second half of the week. Another cold front may approach the Southeast on Thursday and Friday, and tropical moisture from a broad area of low pressure in the western Gulf could move in at the same time. That setup could bring rounds of showers and storms and leave 2-4 inches of rain possible before the week ends.