West Alabama Thursday Briefing
Thursday, August 3, 2023, will be a mix of weather so if you don't like the early heat, wait around for the possible late afternoon showers and thunderstorms.
A Heat Advisory is in effect until 9:00 tonight for all of West Alabama. Heat indices will range from 105 to 109 degrees across the area ahead of any afternoon thunderstorms.
There is a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk for damaging winds to 60mph, lightning and heavy rainfall at times between 2:00 and 9:00 this afternoon and evening across the area.
Tomorrow will be mostly a repeat of today and that weather story will hold true through the first of next week according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham. Lows will be in the mid-70s during this time.
Topping the News:
Melanie Monfee, the mother of 13-year-old Avery has told authorities her daughter has not been seen since 1:30 yesterday afternoon. A search is being conducted this morning by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department, with dogs, in northern Tuscaloosa County for the youth. She is missing from the area of Tierce Patton Road and Highway 43.
In a plea for help on Facebook, Monfee describes her daughter as 5'3" tall with blond hair and brown eyes. The post added that the girl may be in a jacked up black truck or maroon 4Runner.
Contact the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office at 205-752-0616 if you have any information.
In this day of increasing severe weather events, it is critical that communities be prepared for more volatile events. Yesterday more than 200 emergency managers, elected officials, community support group representatives and educators attended the Preparedness for Disaster Resilience Summit in Tuscaloosa to do just that.
Tuscaloosa County EMA Director Nick Lolley says the summit achieved the goal of attendees getting to know and learn from each other. The event emphasized how the whole community plays a part in being disaster resilient. The next such summit will be in Auburn.
Two Alabama inmates were struck and killed by a car while working along a highway in Hamilton Wednesday. The Alabama Department of Corrections said Hamilton Community-Based Facility inmates 30-year-old Ronnie Steven Cornelius and 40-year-old Colt Eugene Morris were working with an Alabama Department of Transportation Road Crew. The incident happened along Highway 278.
Many areas of Alabama, especially West Alabama’s Black Belt, are considered maternity deserts. Bibb, Fayette, Tuscaloosa and Walker counties are the only West Alabama counties where women do have adequate access to birthing facilities or maternity healthcare providers. 28% of Alabama’s women do not have a hospital within 30 minutes of their home and that is leading to a high infant mortality rate.
A man has been charged with that I20/59 shooting we told you about yesterday. He is 24-year-old Randarius Bevelle. The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit is calling the interstate shooting near the Mercedes Plant, a road rage incident. The victim's wounds were not life threatening.
Triple A’s Clay Ingram is blaming the summer heat which forces refineries to cut back production and OPEC for rising gas prices. He says OPEC has cut back production as well, leading to a jump in the crude oil price.
The Alabama average for gas is $3.43 per gallon. The average in Tuscaloosa County is a penny higher. That is 18¢ more than it was a week ago and 35 cents more than it was a month ago.
Anthony Fauci, the retired Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is being replaced by an Alabamian. UAB’s Dr. Jeanne M. Marrazzo will take over the 6-point-3-billion-dollar agency this fall.
Archeologists from the University of Alabama could be called in to remove human graves from property owned by the Birmingham Zoo. The zoo wants to develop a new cougar habitat and has applied for a state permit to remove the 12 to 15 unmarked graves that date from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
Nick's Kids Foundation is providing nearly $600,000 to area and statewide non-profit organizations. The announcement was made at the annual foundation luncheon yesterday.
The First Fridays Art Walk returns to downtown Tuscaloosa tomorrow 5:00 to 7:00pm.
The event, organized by the Tuscaloosa Arts Council, is free to the public. It will feature art exhibits at a variety of local galleries and coffee shops.
In Sports:
The first football game of the season is tonight. It is the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The annual kickoff to the NFL pre-season matches the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets. The game kicks off at 7pm.
According to a release from the UA Athletics Department, University of Alabama head baseball coach Rob Vaughn has officially announced the addition of Mikey White to the Crimson Tide staff on Wednesday. White returns to his alma mater to serve in a player development role.
The Bama shortstop between 2013 and 2015 spent the 2023 season as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech where he served as the hitting coach while also working with infielders.
Stay cool today and remember, tomorrow is Friday!!
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