Today we have news on the auto industry, hurricanes, cicadas and the legislative session.

Autodrama and a bustling industry

As this week wore on, the United Auto Workers union and Alabama’s Republican leaders continued their battle of words around possible looming union action by workers in the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance and the UAW’s filing of charges in Germany against the company, accusing it of engaging in anti-union activities at the plant.

Gov. Kay Ivey earlier in the week claimed that the unionization of auto plants amounted to an attack on Alabama’s economic model, to which UAW President Shawn Fain responded that it definitely is under attack and that the union wants to change it in favor of workers at the plants. Ivey then referred to UAW as the “threat from Detroit.”

Then on Thursday, AL.com’s Shelby Harris reported on some new data that shows the rabbit everybody’s chasing.

According to World Institute of Strategic Economic Trade, Alabama has passed South Carolina and now leads the U.S. in passenger vehicle exports. Auto plants in the state shipped out more than $11 billion worth of vehicles in 2023. That’s more than a billion above South Carolina and nearly twice the value of exports coming out of Michigan.

Hurricane season

The hurricane experts from Colorado State University are predicting a hurricane season that’s well above average activity, reports AL.com’s Leigh Morgan.

The phrase they’re using is “extremely active.”

They’re calling for 23 named storms (the average is 14), 11 hurricanes (the average is 7) and 5 major hurricanes (the average is 3).

Note that this is the team’s early prediction. They usually make an adjustment based on changes in the meteorological outlook.

Now, the CSU researchers have a track record here, and they’re not an organization that’s out to scare people or “get clicks.” They’ve been doing this for decades, and although they obviously can’t hit every number, they help give us an idea of how busy the season might be.

Longtime listeners have heard Leigh come the show and say “it takes only one hurricane to make it a busy season for you.”

Now’s a great time to make sure your homeowners insurance is up to date and that you have an evacuation plan. Hurricane season officially begins June 1.

The buzz about cicadas

If you appreciate the southern sound of cicadas in the summertime, it’s expected to be a good year for you, especially in central and northern Alabama.

There are several species and broods of cicada. Some broods emerge every 13 years; some broods emerge every 17 years; others emerge every year or two. Brood 19 is a major 13-year brood across the Southeast, and that’s what’s going to bring millions more of the bugs into our woods and yards and trees this summer, reports AL.com’s Dennis Pillion.

Meanwhile, across the Midwest, a major 17-year brood will be showing up. Small patches of that brood live in Alabama, but not so many that we expect a major crossover event here. Although that would be pretty incredible.

But it’s noteworthy anyway because these two super-broods haven’t emerged together in a year since 1803. That predates the state of Alabama, baseball and the birth of the two guys running for president.

Legislative notes

Let’s do a quick state legislative overview. Just a lightening round in case y’all have missed any of these:

• Lawmakers are finally back into lottery/gambling negotiations. The Senate and House passed very, very different bills, and now a committee made up of members from both bodies will try to hammer out a compromise.
• There’s a bipartisan proposal that would offer a “workforce pathways” diploma to high school students who choose a non-college route. It’s part of the state’s effort to raise the workforce participation rate and might require fewer math and science credits.
• And the state House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would require cellphones and tablets to come equipped with a filter to block pornography when a minor is using it.

By the Numbers

That was the tornado count from Tuesday’s storms after yesterday’s field surveys.

More Alabama news

On the podcast

AL.com’s Ben Flanagan will join us to to talk about Adam Wingard’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” And for podcast fans who are also Alabama Crimson Tide fans, we’ll have a little tease for something that just might be in the works.

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places: