NOTE: Be sure and scroll down and see the blog post by James Spann about this morning’s TV coverage. I have known James seemingly as far back as before the first sprig of kudzu was introduced to Alabama. I could have predicted almost word-for-word what he would say in his blog post. That is definitely the right way to respond.
Just before the lunch hour, the weather was relatively quiet across Alabama. Colder air continues to spread into the state from the NW and, as it gets progressively colder tonight, there could be some sprinkles of snow flurries over the north with temperatures by morning dipping to the upper 20s. Strong NW winds are making it feel colder. The temperature had dropped to 42 in NW Alabama with wind gusts as high as 28 mph.
Down south, a band of mostly light showers was across the south/central part of the state, but all of the thunderstorms were over in North Florida and South Georgia.
So, it is time for us to take a deep breath and relax. Too bad we could not have done that in the wee morning hours. It was another one of those two pots of coffee all-nighters, but we are used to those. As James always says, “Sleep is for sissies.”
This is a brief rundown of some of the damage reports during the night. The damage was widespread with a lot of people without power and, unfortunately, one fatality.
CASE-BY-CASE
* Unfortunately, a 71-year-old lady lost her life about 3:45 this morning in Leeds as her mobile home was destroyed.
* Among the first reports of damage was trees down in Cordova in Walker County shortly after 3:00.
* In Hoover, Jefferson County, trees and power lines came down along with power outages along US-31 and the junction of 150 and Shades Creek. This was about 3:40 a.m.
* In downtown Leeds about 3:45 a.m., windows were blown and roofs torn off of businesses. At the same time, trees were down and homes were damaged on Veasey Road. This is about the same time that the 71-year-old lady was killed. Hailstones 3/4 in diameter were also reported.
* At 3:55 a.m. in the Vandiver area in Shelby County, trees and power lines were down across the northern part of the county along with some structural damage.
* In St. Clair County around 4:00 a.m., the EMA reported from Odenville that trees and power lines were down across the county with possible structural damage.
* At 4:30 a.m., the EMA for Calhoun County reported numerous trees and power lines down across the county. Hailstones 1 inch in diameter reported near Highway 78 in Oxford.
* At 4:40 a.m., the Clay County EMA Director reported trees down county wide. Same story for Cleburne County.
* At 4:45, numerous trees and power lines came down across the north end of Randolph County, places like Wedowee. There was also some structural damage.
* The Anniston Star reports that Saks High School lost 75% of its roof. South of Anniston in the Mumford area of Talladega County, a wind gust of 65 mph was recorded and at Weaver, north of Anniston, a gust of 70.
* At one point, the power company reported 42,000 homes and businesses with no power.
* I like this report from Hokes Bluff. Gary Howington, the 33/40 skywatcher, reported 1 inch of rain. He said it came down so heavy and fast that he had never seen it like that before. Farm ponds overflowed, he said, and the fish were escaping.
A FEW RAIN AMOUNTS:
Impossible to list all reports, but look at these:
1.00 just west of Vernon and at Hokes Bluff
1.20 Columbiana
0.82 Oneonta
0.62 Jasper
0.80 Steele
0.75 Blountsville
0.72 Carbon Hill
0.63 Gadsden
0.75 Weaver
0.70 Alexander City, Centreville
0.79 Hamilton
JUST GOTTA THROW THIS IN
The first 100-degree heat of the year! We did not get this report until this morning, but the national high yesterday was an even 100 at Rio Grande Village in SW Texas. It was 99 in Del Rio and Cotulla. Even in North Texas it was 90 in Ft. Worth. Interesting contrast: there was a 73-degree range across Texas in the last 24 hours from that 100-degree high to a low of 27 at Dalhart in the Panhandle.
Life goes on through storms and sunshine, day and night. We have to be thankful for that.
