'Death-defying' walk to Vulcan will get safer with $3.2M federal-funded project in Birmingham

COMMUNITIES. ALABAMA’S DROUGHT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE. THE LAST TIME WE RECEIVED MEASURABLE RAINFALL IN BIRMINGHAM WAS A WEEK AGO, BUT EVEN THEN IT WAS LESS THAN A 10TH OF AN INCH. AND CONDITIONS ARE THE WORST OVER WEST ALABAMA. WE’VE GOT SEVERE TO EXTREME LEVELS OF DROUGHT OVER TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, PICKENS DOWN TO GREEN AND. HALE, PERRY, PART OF DALLAS. AND WE’RE NOT EXPECTING ANY BENEFICIAL RAINFALL BEFORE THE NEWEST DROUGHT MONITOR COMES OUT ON THURSDAY, SO DESPERATELY NEED SOME RAIN. IF WE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY MORE RAIN THROUGH THIS MONTH THAN OCTOBER 2025, WOULD RANK AMONG THE FIFTH DRIEST, OR BE THE FIFTH DRIEST ON RECORD. BUT GOOD NEWS WE DO HAVE SOME RAIN COMING, SOME HEAVY RAIN AND STORMS LIKELY THIS WEEKEND WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING THIS WAY. THAT IS MUCH LATER IN THE WEEK. UNTIL THEN, WE’VE GOT WARM, DRY DAYS, PLENTY OF SUNSHINE, NORTH WIND FEELS PRETTY NICE OUTSIDE THIS AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL TREND CLOSER TO AVERAGE BEHIND THE FRONT WILL BE DIPPING BACK INTO THE UPPER 70S HEADING INTO NEXT WEEK, BUT IN THE SHORT TERM IT LOOKS PRETTY WARM THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. YOU CAN SEE WE’RE NOT EXPECTING ANY RAIN THROUGH THE WORKWEEK. OUR CHANCE OF RAIN WILL COME LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND THEN CARRY US THROUGH PART OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY AS THAT FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVES THROUGH. SO LET ME SHOW YOU THE SETUP HERE. FIRST OF ALL, OUR WINDS ARE GOING TO SWITCH DIRECTION ON FRIDAY. SO THAT’S GOING TO STREAM SOME MOISTURE INTO THE STATE. AND CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE HEADING INTO SATURDAY. SATURDAY AFTERNOON WE START TO SEE SOME STORMS ORGANIZE TO THE NORTH AND WEST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS A LITTLE MORE UNSTABLE OUT TO THE WEST. SO PART OF THE ARKLAMISS, THAT’S WHERE THESE STORMS REALLY HAVE THE BEST CHANCE AT TAPPING INTO THIS ENERGY AND BECOMING SEVERE. AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVES EAST WITH TIME. I JUST DON’T THINK THAT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT LEFT ONCE IT GETS HERE IN TERMS OF INSTABILITY, AND WE LOOK AT ALL THE SEVERE PARAMETERS. THIS IS THE LATEST, LATEST RUN OF THE GFS MODEL AND IT KEEPS RAIN AWAY THROUGH 10 P.M. EARLIER IT HAD SOME MOVING INTO WEST ALABAMA AFTER DARK. SO HOPEFULLY THE GAME IN TUSCALOOSA WRAPS UP BEFORE THE STORMS ARRIVE. AND THEN THEY’LL MOVE IN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY MORNING. SO SOME NOISY THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY MORNING. WE’RE NOT LOOKING AT A SEVERE RISK WITH THIS, BUT I CERTAINLY CAN’T RULE OUT SOME STORMS PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AS THIS IS MOVING THROUGH. AND OF COURSE, SOME LIGHTNING MAY WAKE SOME OF YOU UP IF YOU ARE A LIGHT SLEEPER, THIS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH DAYBREAK AND THEN SHIFTING EAST WITH TIME AND HOPEFULLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THIS HAS MOVED OUT OF HERE. I CAN’T RULE OUT SOME STRAGGLING SHOWERS AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS MOVING THROUGH, BUT I’M OPTIMISTIC THAT THIS GETS OUT OF HERE AND CONDITIONS IMPROVE FOR THE RACE IN TALLADEGA ON SUNDAY. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT RAINFALL TOTALS. WE’RE AVERAGING A HALF OF AN INCH TO AN INCH, MAYBE EVEN SOME SMALLER AMOUNTS MIXED IN THERE, BUT IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHERE THOSE HEAVIEST DOWNPOURS SET UP BEFORE WE GET THERE. IT IS WARM, UPPER 80S WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, BUT