West Alabama Thursday Briefing

West Alabama Thursday Briefing

Canva

Good Thursday morning West Alabama! It is September 26, 2024.

Hurricane Helene is churning through the Gulf of Mexico, feeding off of historically warm waters, and growing into a monster.

Helene is now a Category 2 (winds 96-110mph), is expected to strengthen to a Category 3 (winds 111-129mph) and very probably to a Category 4 (winds130-156) before making a 10:00pm landfall along Florida's Big Bend area.

Of greatest concern is the predicted "life-threatening" 15-to-20-foot storms surge.

Catastrophic damage is expected as Helene moves inland, still retaining Tropical Storm characteristics when it moves through the Atlanta Metro Area around 7:00am Friday.

Helene's greatest impact in Alabama will be in East and Southeast counties where a Tropical Storm Watch and Hurricane Warning are in effect.

This will be a storm that will go down in the record books.

Read More: Hurricane Helene’s Approach Could Mean Concerning Weather in Alabama

The Forecast: 

Today
A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. North wind 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. North wind around 15 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Friday
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Friday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southwest wind around 15 mph.
Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Night
Alt 101.7 logo
Get our free mobile app

Topping the News:

Hurricane Helene is impacting the Georgia-Alabama football weekend in an unusual way. With Hurricane Helene predicted to wreak havoc across the State of Georgia, hotels and motels in West Alabama are reporting many of the University of Georgia fans are asking for an additional day to be added to the front end of their stay in Tuscaloosa. They are seeking the safety of West Alabama as they evacuate their homes where tree and power line damage is expected to knock out power for days, if not weeks.

The presence of former president and current GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Georgia vs Alabama game Saturday is drawing a protest from University of Alabama students.

The UA College Democrats distributed a press release to local media announcing a rally Saturday before the kickoff.
Read More: Student Groups Plan to Protest Trump’s Time in Tuscaloosa Saturday

Tuscaloosa has a new Indian restaurant located in the former O'Charley's building on McFarland Blvd.  The restaurant serves authentic and healthy Indian dishes and desserts.

Read More: Curry Kitchen Now Open, Offering New Indian Option for Tuscaloosa

The new Alabama Drought Monitor released earlier this morning reveals that whatever rain we get from Helene will be beneficial.

Pickens and Lamar Counties are still in severe drought while the rest of West Alabama continues in Moderate Drought conditions. Bibb and most of Perry County remain abnormally dry.

That fatal coal mine roof collapse at Oak Grove Mines near Bessemer killed 52-year-old José Lara and has prompted residents to ask questions about why regulators did not force the company to follow required roof management plans after they cited the company months ago. Mine operations have been shut down while Federal regulators investigate the incident.

Topping Sports News:

There are three high school football games on the West Alabama schedule tonight: Linden travels to Southern Choctaw, Curry hosts Winston County, and Winfield visits Fayette.

The line on the UGA at UA game Saturday night has dropped again to the Bulldogs favored by 2-points. Down from an opening line of 15 ½.and 2.5 yesterday.

Bama QB and Heisman candidate Jalen Mildroe joined Steve and DC on their 95.3 The Bear Morning Show and revealed what a day is like for the personable young man from Texas.

Read More: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: A Day In The Life Of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

Click on TuscaloosaThread.com for up-to-date coverage of West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.
Enjoy your Friday eve and ROLL TIDE!!
Categories: News, Local News