Governor Kay Ivey has issued a state of emergency for 28 counties in Alabama ahead of severe weather anticipated for Thursday.

The counties range from the Black Belt through the northeast corner of the state, including the highly populated Jefferson and Madison Counties.

The National Weather Service (NWS) stations in Birmingham and Huntsville have issued numerous warnings for severe thunderstorms and flash floods in the affected areas.

“Once again, Alabama finds herself facing the threat of severe weather. I urge all Alabamians to closely monitor the weather system as it continues to impact portions of our state, especially if you are in the line of the highest risk storms,” Ivey said in a statement.

🚨 SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK TODAY 🚨
950 AM | The Storm Prediction Center has expanded a High Risk for severe thunderstorms. This now includes western Lincoln County, as well as more of Madison, nearly all of Morgan and far NW Marshall counties. #HUNwx (1/4) pic.twitter.com/7quZSbPCR2

— NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) March 25, 2021

Several strong storms are moving through the state. Significant Weather Advisories have been issued for some of these storms. So far small hail, gusty winds, frequent lighting, and heavy rain have been reported. Keep an eye on the weather this morning! pic.twitter.com/hAMyxRTIZr

— NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 25, 2021

The full list of counties where Ivey has declared a state of emergency, in alphabetical order, as follows:

• Bibb
• Blount
• Choctaw
• Colbert
• Cullman
• DeKalb
• Fayette
• Franklin
• Greene
• Hale
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Lamar
• Lauderdale
• Lawrence
• Limestone
• Madison
• Marengo
• Marion
• Marshall
• Morgan
• Perry
• Pickens
• Shelby
• Sumter
• Tuscaloosa
• Walker
• Winston

Ivey’s state of emergency for the counties went into effect at 10:00 a.m. CT on Thursday.

“We will continue following this system and stand ready to provide any assistance we are able, should the need arise,” the governor advised.

Update 10:55 a.m.:

Ivey has expanded the state of emergency to an additional 18 counties, for a total of 46.

The declared emergency now includes nearly all West Alabama Counties and every county from the Birmingham area north.

The full list of counties now included in the order:

• Autauga
• Bibb
• Blount
• Calhoun
• Cherokee
• Chilton
• Choctaw
• Clarke
• Clay
• Cleburne
• Colbert
• Coosa
• Cullman
• Dallas
• DeKalb
• Elmore
• Etowah
• Fayette
• Franklin
• Greene
• Hale
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Lamar
• Lauderdale
• Lawrence
• Limestone
• Lowndes
• Madison
• Marengo
• Marion
• Marshall
• Morgan
• Perry
• Pickens
• Randolph
• Shelby
• St. Clair
• Sumter
• Talladega
• Tallapoosa
• Tuscaloosa
• Walker
• Washington
• Wilcox
• Winston

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.