West Alabama Tuesday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama. It is Tuesday July 4, 2024.

The temperature is going to be hot today, but it is what it feels like that has resulted in the National Weather Service in Birmingham issuing a HEAT ADVISORY through 9:00 tomorrow night.

The ambient temperature will be in the mid to upper 90s today which is about five to six degrees above average for this date.

If you must be outdoors, you need to stay hydrated and take frequent breaks. The Alabama Department of Public Health reminds us that heat can kill.

The Forecast:

Today

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 105. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 105. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Independence Day

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night

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Topping the News:

Tuscaloosa/Cottondale, Eutaw and Jasper are among the 14 communities to split 11.2 million in grant money for electric vehicle charging stations. $581,000 will go to install three charging stations at Travel Centers of America on Buttermilk Road, just off I20/59…$783,000 goes to Love’s in Eutaw for two charges and $2.4 million to Jasper’s Beville State Community College to expand its EV installation training center.

DCH health system is partnering with Hale County College and Career Academy to provide resources for workforce training for health science classes. DCH nursing program manager Kaitlyn Watts news partner ABC3340 this can give students a head start on a career in the healthcare industry.

DCH is donating hospital beds and infant nursery cribs.

47-year-old John Thomas Bigham, of Cottondale, has been identified as the pedestrian struck by a vehicle while crossing the 23rd Avenue crosswalk on University Boulevard Friday. He was transported to DCH Region Medical Center in Tuscaloosa and later transferred to UAB Hospital in Birmingham where he died on Monday morning.

ALEA Trooper Vu Quang tell news partner ABC 3340 motorists and pedestrians need to pay more attention to the road.

A recent study by the National Safety Council found pedestrian deaths are on the rise nationwide partly due to poor street lighting and crosswalk marking. Work is beginning in Alberta or alleviating that problem in East Tuscaloosa.

Hotel occupancy was down 5% in the Tuscaloosa area for the month of May. According to figures released by Visit Tuscaloosa, the average daily rate went from $130.57 a year ago to $126.74 this May. Overall hotel/motel revenue was down by 10.9% that is a decrease of $1-million-87-dollars.

Construction is underway at UAB in Birmingham on an eight story, $190 million bio-medical research facility for the school of medicine and arts & sciences. Retired Alabama U.S. Senator Richard Shelby of Tuscaloosa backed the facility and spoke at the groundbreaking saying the facility will keep UAB at the top of the grid for medical research.

The facility should open in the summer of 2026.

If you are headed to the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast for the 4th and the following weekend, there should be no worries about any direct impact from now Category 5 Hurricane Beryl. The majority of computer models continue to project a final landfall on the northeast Mexican coast as a tropical storm this coming Sunday.

Topping Sports News:

Both Texas and Oklahoma threw big blow outs on their campuses yesterday to celebrate their first day in the SEC.

FOUR CRIMSON TIDE STARS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL AMERICAN TEAMS

The Stillman College Department of Athletics has officially joined the newly named Historically Black Colleges & Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), as of Monday. The HBCUAC is the new name of the former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), which began in 1981.Announced in October 2023, the Tigers now make the transition to the HBCU Athletic Conference after spending the previous six seasons in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), its first conference home since returning to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in August 2016. Stillman qualified for 10 national tournaments during its short time in the SSAC, appearing in five men's basketball national tournaments, two men's cross-country championships, one softball tournament and one men's track & field championship.

Have a tremendous Tuesday!