West Alabama Wednesday Briefing
It is Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and the coldest start to the day since last winter. It dropped to 25° at Tuscaloosa National just before daylight this morning but we will see a quick recovery to a spring like high near 60° by this afternoon.
The warm-up is a precursor to increasing clouds tomorrow and scattered showers tomorrow night. Those showers will be heavy at times through early next week and will most likely end the drought and extinguish the nine remaining wildfires currently burning across North Alabama.
The Forecast:
Today: Fair skies across West Central Alabama with highs in the upper 50s to near 60.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Thursday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 60. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight. Low around 46. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 71. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
High School Football Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 58.
Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
SEC Football Championship Saturday in Atlanta: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Remainder of the Weekend: Rain with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s Sunday through Monday.
Topping the News:
Tuscaloosa County leaders are in Auburn this morning with county officials from across the state to discuss a legislative agenda. They are attending the 2-day annual Association of County Commissions of Alabama Legislative Conference. ACCA President Sonny Brasfield says one of the key issues that needs to be addressed is inadequate mental health care. Brasfield, a Tuscaloosa native, says the counties have to deal directly with mental health issues of all type and the association will focus on initiatives such as adding bed space for treating people.
The Tuscaloosa City School District has been awarded the Benjamin B. Tregow Award for student postgraduate readiness. The award is based on a program that certifies students are career ready. According to school officials, 89% of students who graduated had a verifiable post-graduation plan. Tuscaloosa City Schools is the only system in the nation to receive the award.
Preparations continue at the University of Alabama’s Moody Music Building for the fourth Republican Presidential Debate that will be conducted there a week from tonight. The building and grounds are being spruced up and layers of security installed. Some streets surround the building will be closed. Hundreds of state, national and international media will be intown to cover the debate and tickets for 1,000 invited guests are being distributed by the Republican National Committee.
Nine wildfires are burning in North Alabama this morning, the fewest in some two months. There is one new and it is here in West Alabama. A12 ½ acre fire is listed as contained just North of I20/59 on Greene County Road 14. ABC 3340 Meteorologist James Spann believes the area will get at least 2” of a soaking.
NOAA releases its new drought monitor tomorrow so we will see what affect recent rains have had on the drought.
The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit is seeking a motive and suspect or suspects in the firing of shots into an occupied residence on Union Chapel Road in Northport last night. There were no injuries.
45-year-old James Andrew Crank has been charged with possession of material containing visual depictions of persons under 17 involved in obscene acts. A judge is expected to set his bond today.
The final design for Northport's planned youth tournament sports facility was presented to the city council last night. The Northport River Run Park complex will have nine playing fields capable of hosting little league to college softball and baseball games.
There will be space for hotels and motels and for other sports such as pickleball and tennis in future phases.
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has taken an important step toward ending legal challenges of its awarding licenses to producers and sellers. With that vote the commission can enter into a settlement agreement with Alabama Only LLC that will make their application not based on scoring by the University of South Alabama but rather on proposal presentation and application facts. The next round of awarding licenses is expected Dec. 12th.
Governor Kay Ivey has kicked off her statewide broadband tour in Walker County at Oakman Middle School. Be Linked Alabama is the state's united effort to help provide high speed internet to the rural areas of Alabama.
In Sports:
The Alabama Men's basketball Team lost a rare home basketball game last night to unranked but undefeated Clemson 85-77 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. The young Tide team continues to struggle on defense.
Scores from other ACC/SEC Challenge games:
- Georgia Tech defeats No. 21 Mississippi State, 67-59
- South Carolina defeats Notre Dame, 65-53
- Syracuse defeats LSU, 80-57
- No. 12 Kentucky defeats No. 8 Miami, 95-73
- Missouri defeats Pittsburgh, 71-64
- Ole Miss defeats NC State, 72-52
The next to the last College Football Playoffs Poll released last night has Georgia still at #1 followed by Michigan, Washington and Florida State. Alabama remains 8th behind Oregon, Ohio State and Texas.
The odds for #8 Alabama's Saturday showdown with #1 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference Football Championship keeps widening. The Bulldogs are now six-point favorites. The line opened at 4 1/2, rose to 5 1/2 and could well widen again before Saturday afternoon's kickoff in Atlanta.
Have a wonderful Wednesday and ROLL TIDE!!
More From 95.3 The Bear
