WEST ALABAMA WEDNESDAY BRIEFING
Wednesday, June 14, 2023, brings us a continuation of a severe weather threat for West Alabama. Strong to severe storms will be with us into Friday.
There is a Flood Watch for Tuscaloosa and Pickens County southward through tomorrow afternoon. Some spots already have received up to 2” from overnight storms prompting an Urban and Small Stream Advisory for Bibb and Tuscaloosa Counties.
There is an even greater threat between noon and midnight this afternoon and evening. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed extreme northern Tuscaloosa and Pickens Counties and northward under a Slight (2 in 5) Risk for severe weather with wind gusts to 60mph and 2" size hail.
Bibb and most of Tuscaloosa and Pickens Counties southward are under an Enhanced (3 in 5) Risk for wind gusts to 70mph, baseball size hail and a tornado or two.
A Moderate (4 in 5) Risk for severe weather covers areas roughly south of Pickens, Tuscaloosa and Bibb Counties. Winds could gust upwards of 80mph along with baseball size hail and several tornadoes.
Stay tuned to Operations Storm Watch and click on TuscaloosaThread.com for later updates and possible warnings.
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Topping the News:
The Tuscaloosa City Council will vote in two weeks on a proposal from TPD Chief Brent Blankley for a moratorium to be placed on granting licenses to new bars in the city. Blankley told the council's public safety committee that police protection cannot keep pace with the rapid growth of bars and the security issues they present. Blankley pointed out the numbers of officers required along "The Strip" and downtown makes it difficult to adequately patrol neighborhoods.
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Last Friday was the anniversary of the June 9, 1964 "Bloody Tuesday" incident at 1st African Baptist Church in downtown Tuscaloosa. Last night Mayor Maddox and the council presented a proclamation emphasizing the importance of remembering the event that resulted from police and private citizens attacking marchers protesting segregation at the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse. 33 men, women and children were hospitalized. Nearly 100 were arrested.
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The Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency has years of experience in alerting the public about significant severe weather threats. Through technology called TuscAlert, the agency can also alert citizens to road closures, official holiday closures, Amber Alerts and more.
Now the agency has conducted training for law enforcement officers to teach them how to send missing person alerts to citizens telephones. The systems is set-up so officers can target specific areas and not the entire county.
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Former Alabama and Auburn Head Track Coach and Olympics Gold Medalist in track and Field Harvey Glance has died according to a release from Auburn University. The Phenix City native was 66.
In Sports:
New Alabama Baseball Coach Rob Vaughn was officially introduced at the Capstone yesterday to great fanfare. The much decorated now former Maryland Head Coach is a native of Texas.
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