West Alabama Thursday Briefing

It is Thursday April 4, 2024.

A Red Flag Warning will be in effect between noon today and 7:00pm this evening. This means warm temperatures, very low humidities, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.

Additionally, A Frost Risk is in effect for Lamar, Fayette, Walker and Northern Tuscaloosa counties. The advisory is for tomorrow and Saturday mornings. Residents should take precautions to protect tender vegetation.

The Forecast

Today

Sunny, with a high near 64. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 37. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.

Friday

Areas of frost before 7am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 65. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Northeast wind around 5 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 45.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 75.

Sunday Night

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Topping the News:

Alabama State Troopers seized 17 pounds of marijuana and more than $21,000 cash during a traffic stop in Tuscaloosa last weekend. That information is according to court documents obtained by the Thread Wednesday.

A 21-year-old Michigan woman named Kaprese Rae Sharp, was arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana - a class A felony - and cited for speeding. She was reportedly in the process of delivering drugs from Michigan to two other states and was passing through Alabama with the cash from the first stop and the weed for the second.

The reopening of the Northport Community Center is set for a ribbon-cutting on April 15th. The building was the center of controversy over a now discarded plan to tear it down and replace it with a multi-use retail-living facility.

The battle over the community center pre-staged a similar more recent disagreement between some Northport residents and now former city council president Jeff Hogg over the University Beach project. Opponent Jack Roberts posted a GoFundMe.com com account to raise $100,000 to fight University Beach. As of today $4,650, have been raised.

Sources inside the unionization movement within Tuscaloosa County's Mercedes Benz plant indict a petition for a union vote could be filed either today or tomorrow with U.S. regulators.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) claim 70% of some 6,000 employees at the Vance plant have signed union cards.

The Mercedes union effort is part of a $42 million push by the UAW to unionize all non-union auto plants in Alabama and across the "right-to-work" states in the south.

The first vote will come in Chattanooga at the Volkswagen plant there.

Gov. Ivey is leading the effort o defeat the union because union free prospects have been what has drawn automakers and other industries to the south.

April is the peak month of the spring severe weather season in Alabama. As if to emphasize that, two anniversaries of major tornadoes in Alabama are taking place this week.

Yesterday, was the 50th anniversary of the tragic 1974 Guin tornado that killed 25 people and injured 100 more. Today, is the anniversary of the 1977 EF-5 tornado that devastated Smithfield, just north of Birmingham. 22 people died and 130 were injured.

Alabama will experience a partial solar eclipse (87%) Monday (it peaks around 2p Tuscaloosa time). Unfortunately, it looks like the sky will be generally cloudy. In the path of totality to the west and north, the best chance of a clear sky is over northern New England and Upstate New York.

Topping Sports News:

The odds on the Alabama vs UConn game Saturday night have jumped up a bit today. A half-point has been added making the Huskies a 12-point favorite to beat Alabama. Most experts believe the margin of victory will be even bigger.

There were travel problems for the UConn Basketball Team getting to the site of the Final Four game with Alabama. After multiple extended delays, the UConn team landed in Phoenix, Arizona at 6:12 a.m. Phoenix time this morning.

The Huskies were initially supposed to be wheels up by 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday on an NCAA coordinate flight but got delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane they were scheduled take.

Further complicating travel was federal mandated rest for pilots that required yet another delay. There was no backup flight crew to take UConn to Arizona. So, the team had to take a smaller aircraft across country.

Alabama and Purdue flew in Tuesday evening. NC State landed Wednesday afternoon.

Alabama baseball held off a late rally by Samford to claim an 11-10 win on Wednesday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Following the midweek, the 11^th-ranked Crimson Tide is now 22-7 overall.

The Tide travels to Lexington to face 12th ranked Kentucky this weekend.

The Birmingham Barons will throw out the first pitch of the minor baseball season Friday. The Southern League affiliate of the Chicago White Sox begins a three-game series with the Chattanooga Lookouts at 7:00 tomorrow night at Region's Field in downtown Birmingham.

May your Thursday be a blessed and happy one.