Snowfall early Friday morning sparked a reaction statewide with schools, government, and medical facilities closing and roads deemed unsafe to drive.
In a statement from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, the Warming Station at the BJCC South Hall re-opened early — at 12 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. Requests are also being made for meal deliveries from individuals and businesses in the Downtown area to the BJCC until 2 p.m.
All city streets in Oxford are closed; state and federal roads there remain open. Roads in Vestavia Hills became extremely hazardous but are open. In Pelham there’ve been many reports of downed power lines and power outages, according to the police department. Traffic was moving Friday morning at a crawl along I-65 south near the Shelby County airport. Birmingham City Hall is closed and UAB canceled classes and non-clinical operations; the hospital is open.
According to a tweet from Alabama Power, around 40,000 power outages have been reported state-wide, and crews are already at work trying to restore power:
- 20,000 in the metro Birmingham area
- 13,000 in eastern Alabama counties
- 4,200 in western Alabama counties
- 3,400 in south-central Alabama counties
Government and healthcare facility closures:
- UAB announced the early closure of UAB clinics. UAB Hospital will remain open.
- Cooper Green Mercy Health Services’ clinics, Urgent Care, and Pharmacy have closed.
- Birmingham City Hall and Jefferson County offices will be closed for the day.