Weather Service Crews to Survey Damage Saturday in Southwest Birmingham, Tuscaloosa

| December 26, 2015 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/12/weathermap.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:354;s:6:"height";i:274;s:4:"file";s:22:"2015/12/weathermap.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"weathermap-336x260.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:260;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"weathermap-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:20:"weathermap-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"weathermap-342x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:342;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:22:"weathermap-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => National Weather
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:57157;s:14:"optimized_size";i:42815;s:7:"percent";d:25.09;}s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:50:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/weathermap.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:57157;s:14:"optimized_size";i:42815;s:7:"percent";d:25.09;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1637565645 
1451091849

National Weather Service crews will assess damage Saturday morning in southwest Birmingham and east Tuscaloosa, locations where tornadoes possibly touched down Christmas Day as storms roared through the state.

“We know there were two possible tornadoes, but we will not for sure until we look at the damage,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Chilton County.

The storms struck Birmingham around 5:30 p.m., bringing strong wind and torrential rain. In southwest Birmingham around Jefferson Avenue, at least two homes were destroyed and several others were damaged, according to Mayor William A. Bell Sr., who visited the hard-hit area.

“At least one person was taken to the hospital with injuries. Crews will be checking the damage throughout the night and going door-to-door,” he said. In addition to the storm damage, the mayor said he is also concerned about flooding throughout the city.

A shelter was set up at New Hope Baptist Church on Cleburn Avenue for people impacted by the storm.

At 9 p.m. 10,000 Alabama Power Company customers were without power, according to the company’s Twitter feed.

 

United Nations nuclear agency again condemns Iran for failing to fully cooperate

The resolution comes after the agency said Iran has defied demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Alabama carries out nation’s 3rd nitrogen gas execution

An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation's third execution using nitrogen gas.

Trump names former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his new pick for U.S. attorney general

After former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, President-elect Donald Trump named Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his next pick for U.S. attorney general.

Police report gives details, timeline of the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth

The woman who accused then-Fox News host of sexual assault in 2017 said that she "remembered saying 'no' a lot," according to a police report. Hegseth is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense.

Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes

Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.

In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence

As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.

More Front Page Coverage