UPDATE (10:40 p.m.)

A tornado watch for Cullman County has been canceled.

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UPDATE (9:53 p.m.)

Cullman County is under a tornado watch until midnight

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UPDATE (9:14 p.m.)

Cullman County is under a tornado warning until 9:45 p.m.

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UPDATE (8:44 p.m.)

Cullman County is under a tornado warning until 9:15 p.m.

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UPDATE (3:28 p.m.)

Cullman County is under a tornado watch until 10 p.m.

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Cullman County is currently under a flash flood watch through midnight.

The National Weather Service is warning of a severe weather outbreak across Cullman County and surrounding areas throughout the day. Possible severe weather events include tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.

Local storm shelters will be open, but amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, emergency officials are encouraging anyone who shows up to a shelter to be mindful of social distancing.

“The thing that everybody in emergency offices across the state agrees on is that the impact of a dangerous storm is a more urgent threat than the potential of communicating a disease, if anyone’s life is in immediate danger from severe weather,” explained Cullman Emergency Management Agency director Phyllis Little in an interview with The Times on Thursday.

“That’s why we’re encouraging people to bring, for their personal use, any personal protective items they may already be using, whether that’s a homemade face mask or hand sanitizer. The storm shelters will continue to be open for tornado watches and warnings, but masks and sanitizer are not available on site at the shelters. We’re encouraging people to also remain as distant as they can from one another while at the shelters, but in a confined area like that, there is only so much space.”

Rainfall could reach up to 2 to 3 inches, with a few areas receiving 4 to 5 inches.

A wind advisory is also in effect through midnight, with sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts of 35 to 40 mph.

For the most current updates, download the NOAA weather App and the Cullman County EMA App.

“You can get alerts on your phone just as fast as you can with a NOAA weather radio or with sirens,” Little told The Times in December.