West Alabama Monday Briefing
Good morning!! It is Monday June 10,2024.
The day got off to a noisy started with dozens of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, rumbling thunder and heavy rainfall. Ponding water on roadways led to a number of car crashes but no have been reported.
The rain will move south of the I-20/59 corridor this afternoon and by late afternoon most all of West Alabama will be rain free. As a matter of fact, there is no rain mentioned in the current forecast until late this coming weekend.
Over the next 8 to 14 days the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal high temperatures and slightly above normal rainfall.
The Forecast:
Today
The beaches of the Florida Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coasts are popular with West Alabama vacationers, but caution is being urged today. It comes after a Mountain Brook teenage girl lost a hand and leg to a shark attack Sunday. Another Mountain Brook teen received lesser injuries.
That attack was within 90 minutes of one where a man was attacked by what is being identified as a Bull Shark.
South Walton Fire Chief Ryan Crawford told a press conference what happened is a rarity and happened because warm Gulf of Mexico waters are pushing smaller shark feeding fish toward the shallower water close to the beaches.
The beaches at the Florida Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coast are open this morning but vacationers are being urged to stay close to shore.
J-C Penny is closing a store in Alabama, but it will not be the one in Tuscaloosa. The University Mall store and six others in the state will remain open while the underperforming store in Mobile will be closed.
J.C. Penney has faced significant challenges in recent years, leading to previous Alabama closures in Andalusia, Florence, Scottsboro and Spanish Fort.
The Perry County Town of Newbern, with a population of 133, is getting an upgrade with a new 3-inch sewer pipe that officials hope will be a step toward a new sanitation system. Most homes are on septic tanks there and a system being designed by civil engineering professors at Alabama, Auburn and South Alabama could be a prototype to improving rural water conditions.
A huge crowd turned out at 1st African Baptist Church yesterday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the “Bloody Tuesday” attack by law enforcement and the Klan on peaceful marchers attempting to desegregate the then new Tuscaloosa County Courthouse.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell was the keynote speaker, followed by a march to the courthouse. She was joined by SCLC President and CEO Charles Steele, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy and Tuscaloosa State Rep. Chris England.
Protestors were tear gassed, hosed, and beaten with Billy clubs and baseball bats. Altogether, 33 marchers were hospitalized, and nearly one hundred were arrested.
It was the largest assault and invasion of a Black church by law enforcement during the Civil Rights Movement.
Though lesser known, the events of Bloody Tuesday set the stage for Bloody Sunday and the eventual march from Selma to Montgomery.
Topping Sports News:
The NCAA College Baseball World Series begins in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday and it will have a fair resemblance to the recently completed SEC Championship Tournament in Hoover.
Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A%M and Florida have wrapped up spots in the tournament while Georgia could make it five SEC teams if they can eliminate N.C. State in tonight's Super Regional in Athens.
Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia punched their ticket to Omaha by winning their Super Regionals this past weekend. That insured the tournament will be all SEC and ACC.
The Birmingham Stallions will go for their 3rd straight spring football championship when they meet San Antonio for the UFL title this coming weekend. Head Coach Skip Holtz credits focus as the reason for the Stallions success, "Don't look back, don't look ahead, just keep your eyes on the next game."
Birmingham came from behind Saturday to beat Michigan to win the USFL conference title.
Have a blessed week!!
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