Weather forecasters say conditions are going to be downright brutal for the next few days. Central Alabama is expected to be under the influence of a subtropical ridge. That could means temperatures approaching triple digits in some parts of the state starting today.
John DeBlock is with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. He says those temperatures don’t even include the heat index, which is how humidity makes it feel outside…
“I think we can see temperatures in the mid to upper nineties, perhaps approaching one hundred degrees. When you combine the humidity in there, the effective temperature that you feel, it’s going to feel like one hundred and five degrees.”
DeBlock says there are ways to stay safe and beat the heat. He suggests things like drinking a lot of water and taking frequent breaks if you have to be outside.
An 1871 bronze bell in the dome of the Limestone County Courthouse, which once called residents to the town square for important events, will be relocated for the second time in its life.
County officials plan to relocate the bell from the courthouse dome to a lower floor, so it can be on public display. The plans come amid a more than $7 million project to restore the courthouse.
The Decatur Daily reports that plans for moving the bell, estimated to weigh between 200 and 300 pounds, were still being worked out yesterday.
Kelly Howard is a construction project manager overseeing the courthouse restoration. He hopes to display the bell with historic artifacts discovered during the restoration, including mail from the 1930s that had fallen behind baseboards.
Shootings and racial tensions across the country are prompting one Alabama group to take action.
The YWCA of Central Alabama will host a Face to Face workshop today dealing with race and racial issues. The Workshop is open to people of all ages and ethnicities to share their experiences.
YWCA spokeswoman Rebecca Harkless says that this will be a hands-on event that will put people face to face to deal with racial issues…
“My hope is that this workshop will at least ease the tension that usually is surrounded about having these conversations and that these people will go out and be empowered to have these conversations.”
Harkless says the ultimate goal is to see an end of racial tension and discrimination in schools and the workplace environment. The YWCA Workshop will be held in Birmingham.