Surprising, early season snowstorm results in power outages, slick roads in Alabama
A pre-winter storm Friday dropped heavy, wet snow on a swath of north-central Alabama, causing power outages and making travel hazardous in spots. Revised forecasts projected as much as 6 inches of snow could fall on some sections of north-central Alabama before the storm tapers off later in the day. At noon, temperatures in the affected areas were hovering at or below freezing. Forecasters predicted colder temperatures later in the afternoon, leading to icy conditions overnight. At midday Friday, about 50,000 Alabama Power customers were without power, out of 1.4 million statewide. The brunt of the outages, about 26,000, were in metro Birmingham. About 17,000 customers were without power in eastern areas, including Gadsden and Anniston. About 3,800 customers were affected in western areas, including Walker and Tuscaloosa counties. In south-central Alabama, including Clanton and Alexander City, about 2,600 customers were without power. Alabama Power crews were working across the state to get the lights back on as soon as possible. The wet, heavy snow led to tree limbs falling on power lines in many areas, causing many of the widely scattered outages. Customers affected by power outages are encouraged to call the company’s automated power outage reporting line at 1-800-888-APCO (2726). It is the fastest way to report a power outage. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
ALDOT actively responds to winter weather statewide
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has crews responding across all areas of the state experiencing winter weather today due to Winter Storm Benji. Roadway and weather conditions will be monitored as long as necessary, with road and bridge treatment ongoing in affected areas. ALDOT crews will be actively working to keep State, U.S. and Interstate highways open. Currently, all highways remain open, but the public is urged to check www.algotraffic.com for alerts and road closure information, and to monitor their local news media for information about road conditions. Travel conditions could be considered hazardous in areas where there is any precipitation, whether it is snow, rain or a wintry mix. ALDOT urges everyone to avoid travel where adverse conditions are present until roadway and weather conditions improve. Reports from the National Weather Service mid-morning Friday said all city roads were closed in Talladega, and some streets in Anniston were becoming impassable, with multiple wrecks reported. For additional information, visit dot.state.al.us.
