West Alabama Monday Briefing

It is Monday, November 27, 2023.With Thanksgiving in the rear window, the countdown to Christmas is underway. And the weather for that countdown to start the new work week feels Christmasy.

It was 34° at daybreak here in Tuscaloosa and freezing or just below freezing in Fayette and Jasper northward. But to those headed out the door for work or school it felt colder will at or just below freezing. Overnight lows will be in the upper 20s and lower 30s the next couple of nights before a slight warm-up and rain returns to the area.

The Forecast:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 51. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 55. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 29. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south after midnight.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 58. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Remainder of the Week: Thursday is expected to bring us one more day of sun and high near 60. However, rain will return around midnight with an 80% chance of precipitation. Those rain chances will last through the weekend.

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Topping the News:

Be careful if you plan to take advantage of Cyber Monday Christmas sales today. Carl Bates of the Central Alabama Better Business Bureau is warning about scammers and Hackers using online shopping to redirect shoppers to fake websites to steal your money and ID. Bates says make sure the company's URL is correct and no extra letters or numbers have been added to will take you to a scammer's website.

Hacking online shopping is up 33% this year according to the BBB.

Due to politics the U-S Space Command is still in Colorado, but West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell has told Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa’s West Alabama on Point that the Alabama Congressional Delegation is still fighting to get it moved to Huntsville because it is the right thing to do for the state and nation. All branches of the military and other space experts have said Redstone Arsenal is the most logical location.

Just in time for Christmas, the Alabama Department of Revenue will begin sending out the one-time tax rebates on Friday. The rebates announced by Gov. Ivey during her State of the State Address and approved by the legislature is based on the qualified taxpayer’s status: $150 or single, head of family and married filing separately or $300 for married filing jointly.

Roughly 1.9 million Alabamians will receive a payment, according to the state.

Alabama gas prices continue to drop. Statewide it’s down to $2.85 a gallon, 25¢ less than a month ago. However, Triple-A Alabama’s Clay Ingram warns that prices vary widely. "If you are not care and don't compare, you could end up paying 40¢ more per gallon than you want to".

In Tuscaloosa County the average gallon is $2.81, in Greene County it is $3.14 a gallon.

The grand opening of the Tuscaloosa Tinsel Trail Downtown was postponed due to the forecast of severe weather last week. It will be held tonight at 5:30 at Government Plaza downtown. There will be holiday music, refreshments, Santa, and of course almost 200 lighted Christmas trees, including one from Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.

In Sports:

Georgia opened as a 4.5-point favorite to beat Alabama in the SEC title game in Atlanta this coming weekend. And to nobody’s surprise, satellite radio sports talker and well-known and greatly disliked, hater of Alabama and anything Southeastern Conference, Danny Kanell has predicted Georgia will “boat race Alabama” Saturday.

Former Alabama QB Jalen Hurts was the hero again for the Philadelphia Eagles last night. In an outcome similar to Bama's miraculous last second victory over Auburn Saturday, Hurts recorded a 12-yard scoring run in overtime for a 37-34 win over Buffalo Sunday night.

Hurts is now 16-1 in his past 17 regular season starts and 27-2 in his past 29.

AP Top 25

SEC teams bolded.

12-0 Georgia (52 first-place votes)
12-0 Michigan (10)
12-0 Washington
12-0 Florida State
11-1 Oregon
11-1 Ohio State
11-1 Texas
11-1 Alabama
10-2 Missouri
10-2 Penn State
10-2 Ole Miss
10-2 Oklahoma
9-3 LSU
9-3 Arizona
10-2 Louisville
9-3 Notre Dame
11-1 Tulane
10-2 Iowa
9-3 Oklahoma State
12-0 Liberty
9-3 NC State
8-4 Oregon State
11-1 Toledo
11-1 James Madison
10-2 SMU

Others receiving votes: Tennessee 98; Clemson 57; Kansas State 41; Utah 40; Troy 7; Kansas 6; New Mexico State 5; Kentucky 4; Memphis 1; North Carolina 1; Miami (Ohio) 1.

USA Today Coaches Poll

SEC teams in bold.

12-0 Georgia (59 first place votes)
12-0 Michigan (4)
12-0 Washington
12-0 Florida State
12-0 Oregon
11-1 Ohio State
11-1 Texas
11-1 Alabama
10-2 Missouri
10-2 Penn State
10-2 Ole Miss
10-2 Oklahoma
9-3 LSU
10-2 Louisville
9-3 Arizona
9-3 Notre Dame
10-2 Iowa
11-1 Tulane
9-3 Oklahoma State
9-3 NC State
84-4 Oregon State
12-0 Liberty
8-4 Tennessee
10-2 SMU
11-1 James Madison

Others receiving votes: Toledo 68; Clemson 64; Utah 54; Kansas State 54; Troy 25; Kansas 15; West Virginia 10; UNLV 4; San Jose State 1; New Mexico State 1.

Only one area high school football team is moving forward in the playoffs. That is Pickens County in Class 1A.

Have a great week and let's get fired up for the SEC Championship Game Saturday.