Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

This week marks two hundred years since a 1825 tour of the United States by the Marquis de Lafayette. The French general served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. LaFayette later became a key figure in the French Revolution in 1789. He also holds the distinction of being the only foreign leader ever invited to be a guest of the nation by order of Congress. President James Monroe asked LaFayette to tour the U.S., and that included Alabama.

Mardi Gras means parties and parades along the Alabama Gulf coast. That means it’s also prime time for people who like to catch the colorful beads and doubloons that are thrown from the parade floats. This may sound like all fun and games, but environmentalists say there’s a darker side to this Mardi Gras tradition.

White House negotiators are talking with Europe over tariffs on Aluminum and steel. And postponed tariffs against Canada and Mexico could expire as soon as next week. Officials at the Port of Mobile are watching all this activity. The State says the port generates close to one hundred million dollars a year in revenue.

The snow is still falling along the Gulf coast, but it’s already considered to be a record breaker. Early reports put the snowfall at Mobile Regional Airport at over six inches and five more in Pensacola. If so, that would break the five inch record in Alabama’s Port City set back in 1881. There was also three inches that fell in 1973 and a dusting in late 2017 and 2018.

Drivers in Mobile County are being urged to temporarily avoid bridges and roads as the Gulf coast shivers its way through what’s being called its first ever blizzard alert. Schools in Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, and Escambia Counties are reported closed through Wednesday. Parents should check with their child’s school for updates. The current snow warning for the Mobile area extends until 6 am Wednesday.

Residents along the Alabama Gulf coast could see something they reportedly haven’t seen in seven years. There’s an eighty five percent chance of snow today. The Gulf coast got a taste of winter weather back in late 2017 and early 2018. That was a tenth of inch. Some forecasts put today’s snowfall at possibly two to five inches.

UPDATE— click here for details from the Baldwin, Washington, and Escambia County School systemsYou might call it Alabama’s arctic weather “round two.” Temperatures on Monday morning are expected in the mid-teens with wind chills in the single digits. The Gulf coast is bracing for a near one hundred percent of snow on Tuesday.

Kids along the Gulf coast can experience a little liquid nitrogen along with some holiday fun this Saturday. The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile is hosting what it’s calling Christmas at the Castle.

It looks like November is turning into the month for medieval festivals. Last week, we told you about the very first event of this type to take place in Scottsboro. Now, it’s the turn of the Gulf coast with the Mobile Renaissance Faire and Pirate Festival starting this Saturday in Robertsdale.

Rafael may be gone, but forecasters are now watching a new disturbance in the Caribbean. That new system could become a tropical storm by mid November. Rafael was no threat to Alabama’s Gulf coast. But, the National Weather Service says that past storm is a reminder that a tropical system doesn’t have to hit Alabama directly to have an impact.