Memorial Day Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Monday, May 26, 2025. This is Memorial Day, a time to pay tribute to those who sacrificed themselves for us! This is the 146th day of the year with 219 remaining.

In the Memorial Day Briefing:

Weather: A stormy start to the week.
News: Overnight storms leave scattered power outages and tree damage.
Sports: SEC dominates WCWS
Memorial Day Observations: Today we recognize the true definition of sacrifice.

Weather:

A solid mass of rain and thunderstorms, some very heavy are moving to the northeast across southwest Mississippi this morning. The leading edge is just moving into eastern portions of the Magnolia State this morning. That system will bring another risk of strong to severe thunderstorms to West Alabama by mid-afternoon.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed all of West Alabama under a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk for Strong to severe thunderstorms today and tomorrow. The threats both days will be damaging winds and large hail up to quarter size.

The Forecast:

Memorial Day

A chance of showers before 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 4pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. High near 86. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 10pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 10pm and 1am. Low around 69. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. High near 85. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Wednesday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66.

Remainder of the Week

Chance of showers each day with highs in the lower to mid 80s and lows in the lower to mid 60s.

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News:

Overnight Storms Leave Scattered Power Outages and Downed Trees

Just under 5,000 customers are without power on this Memorial Day morning due to strong to severe thunderstorms overnight.

The outrages are scattered across several counties north of Dallas. The biggest concentration of power loss in the West Alabama 739 in Pickens, 638 in Sumter, 363 in Tuscaloosa and 67 in Bibb County.

There are also outages in several east and northwest Alabama counties.

The bulk of the power is expected to be restored by early afternoon.

Stillman Mourns Tragic Loss

A tragic car crash in the Atlanta metro area on Friday evening took the lives of three persons associated with Stillman College here in Tuscaloosa.

According to a release from Stillman Sieas Elliott, Destiny Gardner, and Varick Lawrence all died in the crash.

Read More: Stillman College Mourns Deaths of Student, 2 Alumni in Accident

Memorial Day Remembrance

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Barry Gregg was the guest speaker at this morning's Memorial Day Ceremonies in Tuscaloosa. The Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA) and the Veterans Memorial Park Association sponsor the annual event to honor the memories of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives in service of their country.

Also participating in this morning's observance were the Hillcrest High School AJROTC Color Guard and the American Legion Honor Guard, Brian Butler, CAPT, USN, Retired and Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge and veteran Rob Robertson.

The Memorial Bell ringing was led by retired U.S. Naval Officer Tracey Benson, who is serving as a representative for both the Veterans Memorial Park Association and Kappa Epsilon Psi Military Sorority, Inc.

John Merkle, LTC, U.S. Army, Retired and the current Director of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center also delivered remarks about the importance of the services available at the VA.

A wreath was also laid in remembrance of the fallen service members.

Tuberville Expected to Announce Run for Governor

Several people close to first term Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville have told Associated Press they expect him to announce his candidacy for Alabama governor soon.

Tuberville would only tell AP, "It's a hard decision."

The former college football coach has twice told the Steve and DC Show on Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa's 95.3 The Bear recently that he is seriously considering a campaign to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey. He told the show he has been seeking President Trump's advice.

Now that Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth has announced he will not seek the state's highest office; the way has been cleared for Tuberville to run.

Tuberville is expected to be a formidable entry, if not front runner in the governor’s race.

Club for Growth PAC this past week endorsed Tuberville in the governor’s race “should he announce his candidacy.”

ALEA Warning About Heavy Monday Night Traffic

With millions traveling over the Memorial Day Holiday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is warning drivers about heavy traffic returning home later today and tonight. A release also adds caution about the impact of potential severe weather later today on homebound traffic.

Troopers are also cautioning drivers about the impact from fatigue on driving after a weekend of activities.

Troopers will be out in force this afternoon and evening.

Duck Dynasty Star Dies

Phil Robertson, the star of “Duck Dynasty,” has died at age 79. Robertson’s family announced his death Sunday in a post on Facebook.

Phil Robertson was the president of the family business, Duck Commander. The family had announced in December that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Sports:

The University of Alabama at Hattiesburg for NCAA Baseball Regional, Play Miami in First Game

The Crimson Tide's embarrassing 15-10 loss to Tennessee in the second round of last week's SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover may have been what cost them one of the 16 NCAA regional host selections.

Alabama (41-16) will be in Hattiesburg, MS to play in their third straight regional. Their opponent in the first game will be Miami (31-24). Alabama is 5-and-5 in their last 10 games while the Hurricanes come into the playoffs having lost six of their last 10 games.

Eight conference teams, including Auburn, did land a regional at their home field later this week. That means Bama, which is expected to be one of the teams to hear their named called as a regional at-large team this morning, will hit the road.

The 16 teams that landed regionals (SEC teams highlighted) are: Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, and Vanderbilt.

Vandy won the SEC Tournament Championship yesterday and may land the overall number one seed for the NCAAs.

The NCAA Regionals Selection Show is scheduled for 11:00am CDT this morning on ESPN2.

Regional games will begin on Friday and will wrap up on June 2nd.

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Memorial Day Observations:

This is Memorial Day! It is a day for a grateful nation to honor those who have perished during our nation’s wars and skirmishes. It is not a day to argue about the politics of warfare or to glorify it. This is a sacred day, a time to remember the individual men and women who died on the battlefield, on the seas and in the air, in brutal prisoner of war camps and from the wounds of war, years after the peace was won.

Some of them are known only to God, unable to be identified. Others went missing in action, later presumed dead. The majority returned home in a flag draped coffin. Then there are those who survived the war but passed away years later in a Veteran’s Hospital, a nursing home or their own bed, victims of their wounds from combat. All forever leaving an empty seat at the family dinner table

Those we remember today were sons, daughters, spouses, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. Most were cut down in the prime of their lives, their ultimate sacrifice being the major accomplishment of a promising life.

When you visit a national cemetery, you are stunned by the sheer number of white markers denoting the final resting place for so many who died so young. On the markers are a name, rank, service organization and home state. It emphasizes that buried there is a real person whose life was cut short.

Several years ago, my wife Nancy and I walked through the row upon row of perfectly placed markers in the meticulously manicured American National Cemetery and Gardens at Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. It honors 9,388 American military who died in the D-Day invasion attacking the beaches below, and in the weeks afterward to liberate Europe during World War II.

Each of those buried there gave their lives, not for “Old Glory” waving in the wind like the movies. Rather they died for each other, their families, friends, neighbors and for countrymen they never knew.

They died in the arms of a buddy, a chaplain, nurse or alone on the battlefield; their last thoughts known only to them and God.

The war movies on television today will largely depict the generals and admirals from our nation’s battles since the American Revolution. But it was the sacrifices made by the soldiers, sailors, airmen, coast guard seamen and merchant marines that won the battles that gave those high-ranking heroes their medals and reputations.

The majority of people we remember today were not professional warfighters. They were farmers, high school and college students, businesspeople, teachers, stockboys at the grocery store, truck drivers, and the kid down the street - the average American.

We are familiar with some of the wars and engagements in which they died, such as the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, War with Native Americans, WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.

But there are others with little historic recognition such as the Quasi-War, the First Barbary War, the Chesapeake-Leopold Affair, the Opium Wars, the Santo Domingo Affair and the Raid on Yakla. Americans died fighting in those conflicts too.

They were not all recruiting poster perfect. Most had rather be anywhere other than where they were, living in a real-life horror movie. They experienced fear, pain, hunger and exhaustion. What they saw and did are what nightmares are made from.

Today we don’t celebrate Memorial Day, we commemorate it. We honor the 1,354,664-plus Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.

The war debate is for another day.

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Have a safe and restful Memorial Day and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.