James Spann: Alabama stays dry through the weekend with warmer afternoons
MARVELOUS MARCH WEATHER: With sunshine in full supply, temperatures are mostly in the upper 60s this afternoon. We stay dry through Friday with sunny days, clear nights and a warming trend. Look for low 70s Wednesday, mid 70s Thursday and upper 70s Friday. Picture-perfect weather.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Humidity levels will rise a bit, but an upper high should keep Alabama warm and dry with a partly sunny sky Saturday and Sunday. Highs will be close to 80 degrees; it will be the warmest weekend so far this year.
NEXT WEEK: Rain and storms will return to the state Monday ahead of a cold front. That front will become nearly stationary near the Tennessee state line, and some risk of rain will continue into Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. It’s still too early to know whether severe thunderstorms will be an issue.
ON THIS DATE IN 2007: An EF4 tornado struck Enterprise around 1:10 p.m. Eight students at Enterprise High School and another man in the community died in the tragedy. The fatalities at the school occurred when a concrete wall collapsed on a group of students huddled in a hallway. A controversy arose as national media outlets questioned whether school administrators should have dismissed school early, but nearly all local residents supported the decision to keep students at school. If the students had been sent home, no doubt the death toll would have been much higher.
A high-risk outlook was issued early that morning and a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) tornado watch was issued hours in advance. The National Weather Service Tallahassee issued a tornado warning a full eight minutes before the tornado struck the school.
Another devastating tornado struck the Millers Ferry area in Wilcox County, killing one man. That tornado also ranked as an EF4.
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