The Alabama National Guard has been activated for the anticipated wintry weather, which is expected to bring ice and snow to much of the Yellowhammer State.
According to a post on the National Weather Service's (NWS) website, "Thursday night and Friday are becoming a little more concerning in regard to winter weather. At this time, the probabilities are increasing that there will some impacts to the area."
The Guard will be operating Mobility Support Teams with approximately 350 Guardsmen staged across north and central Alabama. The team will assist communities and Alabama Emergency Management Agency with potential impacts of upcoming winter weather.
A post on the Alabama National Guard's Facebook page reads, "Watch the weather and stay safe! Do not drive on frozen roads if at all possible and, as always report dangerous developments to your local Emergency Management Agency. #ALwaysReady #ALwaysThere."
In preparation for Winter Storm, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is ramping up its preparation efforts. Crews began pretreatment on select routes in some areas of the state Tuesday and pretreatments will continue and expand across much of the state Wednesday and Thursday.
As icy temperatures and arctic air continue to hit Alabama, warming stations are keeping their doors open to help shelter residence from the cold.
Stations are open in Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville. That's also the case for Tuscaloosa, where the county's Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is asking for donations to help those in need.
Things like blankets, non-perishable food items, first aid supplies and travel-sized pillows are the items most in demand. Donations must be in the original packaging or newly bought.
The warming stations seem to be much needed. In Birmingham, where temperatures fell below freezing, the Jefferson County coroner’s office said Wednesday that it was investigating three possible deaths from hypothermia that had occurred over the past 24 hours.
