Birmingham City Schools Cancel Afternoon Activities Tuesday

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The threat of severe weather Tuesday has prompted Birmingham City Schools to cancel all after school activities for the day. A tornado watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for 34 Alabama counties, including Jefferson.

The tornado watch is in effect until 4 p.m.

The Birmingham area has been hit with heavy rain for most of the day, part of three rounds of storms expected to sweep through the area Tuesday.

Meteorologist James Spann said the main concern will come from the third round of storms. "They will have potential to bring damaging straight-line winds and a few isolated tornadoes," Spann said. "Some hail is possible as well. The SPC probabilistic outlook shows most of Alabama will have a 30-45 percent chance of damaging winds within 25 miles of a given point."

Jefferson County Schools, Fairfield City Schools, Hoover City Schools and Shelby County Schools have also canceled after school activities for the way. Several school systems in north Alabama have dismissed early.