Traffic moves along US 31 in Cullman on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 as a steady rain falls.

If you hear weather alert sirens outside Wednesday, it won’t be a test.

With the approach of more than one wave of rain and storms expected to sweep through North Alabama, local emergency officials are canceling the typical siren tests that peal through Cullman County one Wednesday a month— just to avoid any confusion about whether you should respond if the sirens go off today while skies are grey.

In short, if the sirens go off Wednesday, you should act. “If anybody hears the sirens on Wednesday, they need to take heed, because it’s real and it’s not a test,” said Cullman County Emergency Management Agency director Phyllis Little late Tuesday. “There’s no test of the alert system on Wednesday, due to the inclement weather that’s heading into the area.”

Forecasters are anticipating multiple bands of storms through the day, with 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. offering the window of greatest potential for heavy winds, possible hail, and isolated tornadoes. With the weather system moving over all of North Alabama, though, Little said local residents should be ready to respond to watches and warnings that could arrive anytime between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The greatest risk of severe weather, said Little, will come in the form of heavy rainfall totaling two to three inches throughout the day, followed by a moderate risk of damaging winds gusting up to 60 mph, as well as a slight risk for tornadoes and hail.

“The high-risk period will be through the afternoon and into the evening, and it’s spread over the entire portion of North Alabama — not just Cullman County,” she said. “With rainfall totals of up to three inches, we may also be looking at water over some of the roads, as well as spot flooding in places that don’t drain well. With the ground saturated, and with heavy winds, there’s also the possibility of uprooted trees and downed power lines.”

Following on the heels of all the wind and rain is a cold front that’s expected to lower daytime highs to the low 40s by Friday. “Depending on what happens in South Alabama and whether storms develop from the Gulf [of Mexico] that could weaken our system farther north as the day wears on, we might not see weather that’s as severe,” Little said.

“Either way, the last line of storms, if it develops, would be pushing through our area between 1a.m. and 3 a.m. Thursday morning. After that, a cold front will be moving through, and by Friday we’ll be lucky if we make it out of the 40s in the daytime.”