"I don't want to necessarily say it will be one of our larger outbreaks, but if you're hearing my voice right now I want you to pay attention. I want everyone here to take this very seriously."

That's coming from Kevin Laws of the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

The weather service conducted a briefing on Tuesday to outline what forecasters are thinking about what could be in store for Alabama on Wednesday.

In essence: Wednesday has the potential to be the biggest severe weather day Alabama has had in a while.

Strong to severe storms will be possible statewide, and some of those storms could spawn strong tornadoes as well as damaging winds and large hail.

"All threats will be on the table here, including long-track tornadoes," Laws said. "So we need to be prepared for that."

The storms could begin overnight and last through the evening on Wednesday, according to Laws.

Here are some of the points Laws outlined in the briefing:

1. This weather system is different from what we usually see in Alabama.

A more typical severe-weather scenario here is that storms develop to the west over Mississippi and Tennessee and track eastward over the state "and we get to see what happens" there and what to expect, Laws said.

That won't be the case this time.

That's because the storms are "basically going to develop right on top of us," Laws said.

The culprit behind Monday's rough weather will help kick things off.

Laws said that a front that moved through Alabama on Monday, spawning severe storms over parts of central and south Alabama, will move back over the state overnight in the form of a warm front.

"This is going to end up wrecking our day pretty substantially," he said.

2. These storms won't need the sun to get going

South of the warm front the atmosphere will become unstable and storms could develop early.

"Once we get destabilized under that warm front, that's when all the action is going to start happening," Laws said.

Storms could develop during the early morning hours, he said, calling it a "rather junky and messy" situation.

"I don't care that the sun's not out," he said. "This system is strong enough to where we're going to be able to overcome the fact that it's the middle of the night. So keep that in mind."

Not all of the morning storms will be severe, he said, and some could also develop north of the warm front.

A few weaker tornadoes will be possible south of the front.

Later in the morning the "junky stuff" will move to the east and into Georgia.

But Alabama won't be done with storms at that point. Laws said it's possible new cells could then redevelop over the state.

"We've got to be careful with some of these cells because it could get dangerous," he said.

That's because low-level winds will increase, which could enable storms to begin to rotate.

All this could come about mid-morning, he said.

3. There could be a lull in the mid-afternoon.

"There could be a few cells but nothing widespread," Laws said.

Meanwhile, the sun could pop out in spots and the atmosphere over Alabama may continue to destabilize.

That sets the stage for something that could be troubling.

4. Watch for a dry line to form in the afternoon

The official definition of a dry line is a boundary that separates moist and dry air masses. It's often the spark for severe storms in the Midwest. Severe storms and tornadoes often develop along a dry line or in the moist air to the east of it, according to NOAA.

Computer models are suggesting a dry line could take shape over Mississippi and spawn storms that could track eastward during the afternoon possibly between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

It's the dry line that is "starting to scare me more than anything else," Laws said.

"This is what's going to be our bigger and greater potential."

And it's eastern Alabama that could be the target zone this time.

The best combination of atmospheric dynamics could set up east of the Interstate 65 corridor.

It's a "rare situation where you guys out east may be under the gun," he said.

Those western counties that typically bear a lot of the brunt of Alabama's severe weather "may be in better shape than those along the I-65 corridor and points east," he said.

Laws added that he is "really nervous about that dry line sparking back up."

5. They are not ready to call it an "outbreak" just yet

"There's enough turning with height and enough instability to boot that I think we could be looking at a rather ... a possible rather large outbreak," Laws said.

"I don't want to word it quite that way yet; I don't have quite the confidence on how this thing will evolve until we get into the situation.

"I don't want to necessarily say it will be one of our larger outbreaks, but if you're hearing my voice right now I want you to pay attention. I want everyone here to take this very seriously."

Especially Wednesday afternoon.

Storms will be rotating, that much is fairly certain, he said. But whether they reach the ground is another thing.

"It could be that these storms are rotating like crazy and we just can't get a tornado down ... the science is just not that good yet, I'll just be honest with you.

"What I can tell you is that these cells will be rotating, and there will be a significant chance that several of them will touch down and we may have some rather large tracks."

6. There's no telling whether parts of Alabama will be upgraded to a "high" risk on Wednesday

Laws said that the Storm Prediction Center's decision to upgrade an area to the rarely used "high" risk category is not one that is made early on.

"They usually do them once things start to develop and they have a better handle on what is actually developing versus these computer algorithms that spit out the model data," he said.

However, he added that "the moderate risk, especially across our east is certainly justified."

7. This is the biggest threat Alabama has faced in a while.

Laws pointed out that storms could form over a very large area on Wednesday that could stretch from Alabama to Indiana and Ohio.

"This is much more serious than the last three threats we've dealt with over the past month," he said. "Be very careful with this one."

8. Don't be scared, but get prepared

Wednesday has the potential to be very busy, and getting ready in case severe weather threatens your area is crucial, according to John DeBlock of the weather service.

It's "certainly something we all need to be concerned about -- not going be scared about it," DeBlock said. "Let's prepare and be informed and then we can make good decisions about it."

Here's the full briefing from the National Weather Service in Birmingham:

[Related: Have your 'readiness kit' ready]

James Spann offers some tips: