West Alabama Friday Briefing
It is Friday, January 19, 2024. After a brief respite from freezing temperatures, we plunge back into the deep freeze over the next couple of days.
A HARD FREEZE WARNING will be in effect tonight through tomorrow morning as overnight temperatures sink in to the teens areawide. Folks in Lamar, Fayette and Walker counties will be under a WIND CHILL ADVISORY during the same period of time. Wind chills could be as low as zero. Both expire tomorrow morning at some point.
The freezing temperatures will be around until after noon on Sunday when things begin to warm up toward a more season week next week. Normal highs for this time of the year are in the mid 50s and that is where they will be Monday. But the warming trend doesn't stop there, look for a high near 70 by Thursday.
Rain is in the forecast all next week but that is not all a bad thing. While the precipitation will not totally end the ongoing drought it is expected to put a real dent in it. The new U.S. Drought Monitor issued yesterday reveals the rain and frozen precipitation of the last week plus have helped shrink the areas covered by Severe and Moderate Drought outlines.
The Forecast:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. North wind 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 15. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 35. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 43. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Remainder of the Work Week: Chances of showers and possibly scattered thunderstorms each day. Highs will climb from the low 60 on Monday to near 70 by the end of the week.
Topping the News:
The Freezing temperatures and frozen precipitation this week have forced schools to close completely or switch to remote learning. State schools superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey tells news partner ABC3340, those decisions are made locally not by the state. Mackey says closure decision are made for the safety of students and faculty. He says in most cases it would have been dangerous this week to put school busses on slippery roads.
This week’s freezing weather left several communities of West Alabama dealing with water issues. There is a “Boil Water Notice” in the Bibb County community of Randolph. Also dealing with water shortages are Oakman in Walker County, Demopolis in Marengo County, Sawyerville in Hale County and Uniontown in Perry County
Oakman appears to be in the worst situation where they have dealing with the water shortage for a week. Crews are searching diligently to find the leaks in the system.
All the impacted areas are searching for water donations until the crisis is over.
The Salvation Army in Tuscaloosa is one of five different agencies receiving assistance from Alabama Power Company. The $50,000.00 donation from the company's Alabama Business Charitable Trust helps organizations faced with high demand in providing vital emergency assistance and resources to those in need.
Tiger Wood's new Popstrike Mini-gold facility had their grand opening yesterday just off McFarland Blvd. near Baumhower’s Restaurant. Community leaders turned out for the ribbon cutting. The new facility is just the 10th PopStroke to open.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen is backing former president Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appeal of actions by Colorado and Maine to remove his name from the presidential primary ballots. The son of Cottondale Senator Gerald Allen is one of 10 secretaries of state to sign onto the suit claiming Secretaries of State do not have the legal authority to remove duly qualified candidates from a federal election ballot.
In Sports:
The Alabama Football Team has lost yet another critical player from new Head Coack Kalen DeBoer's first squad.
5-Star Quarterback Julian Sayin from California has announced he is entering the transfer portal without ever playing a down for the Crimson Tide.
The much sought prospected joined the Tide early and practiced with the team during Rose Bowl preparations.
He was considered the nation's top dual-threat quarterback.
After three seasons on the job, Tuscaloosa County High Head Football Coach Adam Wainright is headed to the college ranks. He will join the new staff of Troy head coach Gerad Parker as director of leadership and high school relations.
Wainright was in the midst of turnaround a moribund Wildcat program.
The 10th ranked LSU women (17-2, 4-1 SEC) came from behind in the second half at Coleman Coliseum last night to blast Alabama (15-5, 2-3 SEC) 78-58 in SEC action.
The Crimson Tide lead at halftime but could not withstand the 9th ranked Tiger's second half assault.
Alabama next plays at Auburn at 2:00pm Sunday.
The3rd ranked Alabama Gymastics Team hosts 4th ranked Arkansas tonight at Coleman Coliseum. The meet begins at 6:30pm and will be televised by SEC Network. It is UA's second top-five showdown in as many weeks.
The Alabama Men's Basketball Team (12-5, 4-0 SEC) has their work cut out for them tomorrow. They take on Tennessee (13-4, 3-2 SEC) inside the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn. Tipoff is set for 1:00pm CST on ESPN 2 and the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
Stay warm this weekend and ROLL TIDE, "Squeeze the Big Orange" and "Stomp the Tigers"!
More From 95.3 The Bear
