West Alabama Tuesday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Tuesday, May 27, 2025. This is the 147th day of the year with 218 days remaining.

In the Tuesday Morning Briefing:

Weather: More stormy weather is washing across West Alabama this morning.
News: Another day of storms, another day of scattered power outages.
Sports: Like softball, the SEC dominates NCAA post-season.
Tuesday Morning Observations: Leadership is challenging.

Weather:

Lightning, thunder and at times heavy rainfall are already dominating today's return to work have a long Memorial Holiday weekend. It is expected to continue through most of the day.

A Flood Watch is in effect for all of West Alabama through late tonight. It is a result of flooding caused by continued rounds of showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall. West Alabama counties included are Bibb, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties. Already saturated soils will contribute to the flooding potential.

There is a Marginal (1 in5) Risk to a Slight (2 in 5) Risk for strong to severe thunderstorms late this morning through late afternoon. The greatest risk is across the southern half of the area below Tuscaloosa. The threats will be damaging winds and large hail up to quarter size.

The threat for strong to severe thunderstorms will continue. There is a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk on Wednesday and a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk on Thursday. Damaging winds and large hail will be the primary concern on both days.

Excessive rainfall is possible both today and Thursday.

Click on TuscaloosaThread.com for Real-Time Weather Updates

The Forecast:

Today

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 83. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Calm wind.

Thursday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Thursday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday

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News:

Power Outages Already Adding Up Across the South This Morning

Storms already moving across West Alabama are leaving scattered power outages behind. 848 outages have already been reported this morning in Tuscaloosa County, 160 in Greene County, 52 in Walker County and 21 in Marengo County.

Power crews are already working to restore service, but more power outages are probable as the day progresses with damaging winds in the forecast for later this morning and into the afternoon and early evening hours in West Alabama.

To our North, South and West, there are 17,000 outages across Mississippi, 12,000 in Louisiana and 126,000 in Texas. More than 4,000 Florida customers are reported without service, 3,000 in Tennessee, and 11 hundred-plus in Arkansas.

Those numbers continue to rise in Alabama and across the south.

Tuscaloosa and West Alabama Making Up for the Drought

Tuscaloosa and West Alabama began 2025 on the back end of a lengthy drought that had been dealing farmers and Alabama Forestry firefighters misery. The dry soils not only made it difficult on the growing season but helped spread thousands of wildfires.

Since January first the heavens have opened up and while spawning tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding; the drought is now history.

Since New Year's Day Tuscaloosa County and much of West Alabama have received 28.86 inches of rainfall. That is more than 5 1/2 inches above normal. Since May 1st alone, Tuscaloosa County has recorded 12.93 inches of rainfall.

All of the rain has, while contributing to flooding, ended any wildfire threat anywhere in the state.

Anniversary of Tragic Brent Tornado is Today

On a Sunday night 52 years ago today, a long track F-4 tornado on the then Fujita Scale cut a swath across Bibb County. The monster twister destroyed 90% of the city of Brent, killing five people. Nearly 200 people were injured along the path.

The tornado damaged or destroyed everything in its path, including the National Weather Service office and radar which was then located near Brent. The staff at the took shelter in a nearby ditch, which likely saved their lives, but the weather radar was destroyed.

Memorial Day Rain Pushed Tuscaloosa/West Alabama ceremony Inside

Master Sergeant Barry L. Gregg, who served in both the United States Marine Corps and Army, delivered the keynote address at Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama's annual Memorial Day commorancy.

MSGT Gregg said Americans should carry the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives with them every day.

The annual event is sponsored annually and is usually conducted in Veteran's Memorial Park but was moved inside due to in climate weather.

Atlanta Crash That Killed Three Stillman Collage Associates Still Being Investigated

Georgia authorities are still seeking an official cause to the single car crash that killed three people with Stillman College ties over the weekend. Officers believe the car left the roadway, hit a ditch and exploded in flames.

The three victims were Sieas Elliott, of Stockbridge GA, Destiny Gardner of Montgomery, and Varick Lawrence of Lithonia GA. They died in the Atlanta Metro area just after 3:00am Saturday morning on Interstate 75 in Clayton County according to the Geogia State Patrol.

“This is a terrible tragedy for everyone in our Stillman family," said Dr. Yolanda W. Page, President of Stillman College stated on Facebook. "The spirit of each of these proud Stillmanites will live on with all who were greeted by their warm smiles and welcoming personalities. The entire Stillman College community mourns this heartbreaking loss."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has ordered autopsies be performed.

Alabama Gas Prices Holding Steady

Typically, you see gas prices shoot upward during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, but not this year. The long holiday is generally seen as the unofficial beginning of the summer driving season and that is past years has meant rapidly rising prices. This year they actually dropped slight.

In Alabama the $2.72 at the regular pump was 3 cents a gallon cheaper than last week.

The cheapest gas in West Alabama is in Bibb County at $2.62 a gallon. Perry County remains the highest at $3.04 a gallon.

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Sports:

Bama Baseball Travels to Hattiesburg for NCAA Regionals

#2 seed The Crimson Tide (41-16) will tangle with #3 seed Miami (31-24) in the first round of the NCAA Baseball Playoffs, and they will do it on the road. Bama and the Hurricanes will have first pitch at 2:00pm CDT at the University of Southern Mississippi campus.

#1 seeded USM (44-14) plays #4 seed Columbia at 6:00pm CDT.

The Bama/Miami game will be televised on ESPN2 while Southern Miss and Columbia will be on ESPN+. You can hear the game on Tide 100.9.

NCAA Baseball Playoff Information

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Tuesday Morning Observations:

Unfortunately, leadership is at a premium in this country, in both political parties. One reason we are not getting top quality in many cases is because of social media rumors and fake news. Another reason is because of the constant criticism and threats.

It is not just the leader that receives constant haranguing from the public, it is their family too, spouse and children.

A man I know who would make an incredible leader recently told me he didn't want to run for office because he didn't want to put his family through the hell associated with it.

The problem isn't just at the federal level, it applies to state and local leadership as well.

Walter Mead with the Hudson Foundation hit the nail on the head when he recently wrote that it is not the people available, it is the pressure on them that has created a crisis in leadership, "It does not come from our enemies abroad. It does not come from our dissensions at home. It does not come from unfunded entitlement commitments. It does not come from climate change. Our greatest and most dangerous crisis is the decay of effective leadership at all levels of our national life, something that makes both our foreign and domestic problems, serious as they are, significantly more daunting than they should be."

Both of our political parties are guilty of demanding everything be done their way or else. A free nation cannot operate that way.

Signs of elite failure in leadership are all around us. Domestic and foreign policy, caring about others, not listening to ideas other than our own, unwillingness to compromise for the greater good, not telling the complete truth, misleading, impugning the authority of others and I could go on-and-on.

This is the first part of a multipart commentary on leadership and the lack of it these days. Being thinking about what leadership means to you as we discuss the important topic this week.

(Opinions expressed in Morning Observations are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff of sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

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Have a safe and terrific Tuesday and keep an eye on the weather.