A fast-moving line of severe storms could move through Alabama later tonight, according to forecasters.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe storms for west and south Alabama tonight, and a Level 2 risk for the rest of the state.
The Level 3 risk area has expanded eastward some to include more of Alabama in the latest update from the SPC.
Tonight’s storms could bring tornadoes, damaging winds and heavy rain. The higher probabilities for severe storms are for west Alabama, but strong to severe storms will be possible statewide.
It is also expected to be windy statewide starting later today and tonight.
The National Weather Service has issued wind advisories that will go into effect tonight for north Alabama and south Alabama. Gusts could be as high as 40 mph. The wind combined with recent heavy rain could take down some trees.
Rain will be possible on and off today, and there could be some storms. Today will also be the warmest of the next seven days, according to the weather service, with highs in many areas reaching the 70s despite occasional showers and clouds.
Here’s the temperature forecast for Saturday:
Here are Saturday’s forecast high temperatures.NWS
The threat for severe weather is expected mainly late tonight.
Forecasters cautioned Alabamians to make sure they have a reliable way to get severe weather warnings if they are issued overnight.
Don’t put your phone on silent tonight in case a warning is issued for your location.NWS
The National Weather Service thinks storms could reach west Alabama between 9 p.m. and midnight and quickly track eastward through the overnight hours (timing for storms is at the bottom of this post).
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center is maintaining a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe weather for a large part of western Alabama. A Level 3 — or enhanced — risk means that numerous severe storms will be possible.
The rest of Alabama has a Level 2 — or slight — risk and could have to deal with scattered severe storms.
Forecasters think that the line of storms will be moving quickly enough that flash flooding won’t be a widespread problem, but it could be possible in localized areas.
Colder temperatures are expected to follow tonight’s storms, and temperatures the rest of next week will be near or below average, according to forecasters.
Here’s more on tonight’s potential for storms and timing from the National Weather Service:
NORTH ALABAMA
Here’s the timing for potential storms in north Alabama tonight.NWS
CENTRAL ALABAMA
SOUTH ALABAMA
Here’s the severe weather outlook for southeast Alabama.NWS
The Daytona 500 is scheduled to transpire this afternoon. The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. CT on FOX. Fans can watch this NASCAR race for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV.
The Daytona 500 will begin the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series, so the race winner will sit atop the standings.
There will be 41 participants in this race, including Joey Logano. He finished the 2024 season with 5,040 points, which helped him secure first place in the competition. Logano will start the Daytona 500 in 10th place, which sets him up to perform well this afternoon.
The Daytona 500 will also feature Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick. These three racers were less than 10 points away from winning the NASCAR Cup Series last year, so they will try to bounce back today.
Byron will have the best starting position of the group, as he will begin the race in fifth place. With this in mind, Byron should obtain a great result to begin his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
Fans can watch the Daytona 500 race for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV.
Back in the Reagan era, these moments played for laughs. But today, the collision of faith and public life is no joke—especially in Alabama, where Republican lawmakers deep in the Bible Belt are attempting to turn religious devotion into state policy.
In the opening weeks of the 2025 legislative session, GOP leaders introduced bills that push the boundaries of church-state separation, setting the stage for inevitable legal fights.
It’s the largest potential clawback schools have ever faced.
“I am not aware of a situation where the State Superintendent has ever had a clawback of this magnitude for violations of state law,” said Ryan Hollingsworth, executive director with the School Superintendents of Alabama.
Critics argue the bills are part of a broader national push to enshrine Christian nationalism in government; proponents counter that they are simply restoring “common sense” values to classrooms.
“Rather than wasting resources advancing the Christian Nationalist agenda of imposing one narrow set of religious beliefs on students, Alabama legislators would better serve all Alabamians by working to improve the state’s public schools to ensure all students have the resources needed to thrive,” said Nik Nartowicz, lead policy counsel at the Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, on the floor of the Alabama House on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, inside the State House in Montgomery, Ala.John Sharp
Alabama leaders, however, say they are doing what the voters want and are confident the laws will be upheld by the courts. The school prayer bill is a constitutional amendment that would have to go before voters for approval, and GOP officials believe it would pass with 70 to 80 percent support.
“I mean, we are still Alabama,” said Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville. “We need to act like it. I think that’s part of what makes us the state we are. I understand other groups may not agree with it or like it, and I get it.”
Constitutional clash
Americans United and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) are already challenging the legislation, arguing that both measures violate constitutional protections—even after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District emboldened conservatives to push for more religious expression in public schools.
The Lemon test required that a law or policy meet a three-prong standard by having a secular purpose, not advance or inhibit religion, and avoid excessive government entanglement with religion.
The Kennedy decision overturned the longstanding Lemon test, a legal standard established in 1971 to determine whether a government action violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The 6-3 ruling replaced it with an approach based on “historical practices and understandings,” which some conservatives interpret as a green light for religious expression in public settings.
Alabama State Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, believes House Bill 231, the measure requiring a Judeo-Christian prayer in schools, will survive legal scrutiny because of the Kennedy ruling.
But constitutional experts aren’t so sure.
Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, says lawmakers are overestimating the Kennedy decision’s scope.
“All the other precedent prohibiting school officials from engaging in religious activity or coercing students to participate in religion remains good law,” he said. “That means there is no legal support for many of the laws states are currently enacting or pushing regarding prayer or the display of the Ten Commandments.”
National fight
Alabama is hardly alone in its push to lower the wall between church and state. Louisiana became the first state to mandate Ten Commandments displays in public schools last June, but a federal judge blocked the law in November. The case is now before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Texas and Montana are considering similar measures, waiting to see how the Louisiana law fares in court.
“Everyone knows that forcing schools to display the Ten Commandments is about pushing religion, and anyone saying otherwise is being dishonest,” said Ryan Jayne, senior policy counsel with FFRF. “The fact that lawmakers are simultaneously pushing for religious displays and mandated prayers undermines any argument that they are interested in history rather than religion.”
Greg Davis, president of the Alabama Citizens Action Program—a nonprofit representing 3,500 churches—says the legislature is simply responding to the concerns of deeply religious constituents.
“Seems as though they are responding to what is seen as a denial of what was once commonly accepted sense—like the recognition of the Ten Commandments, praying and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools,” Davis said. “It is a shame that the Legislature has to spend time on such issues. But my take is that they do so as a response to a secular-leaning agenda to strip culture of what was once common and non-controversial values in Alabama and America.”
But secular organizations say Alabama still has to abide by the Constitution.
“The U.S. Constitution’s promises of church-state separation and religious freedom mean public school students and their families—not politicians or school officials—must be free to decide if, when, and how they engage with religion,” said Nartowicz. “This proposal is clearly unconstitutional and would violate students’ religious freedom. The U.S. Supreme Court more than 60 years ago barred public schools from forcing children to listen to daily prayers.”
They also say that one thing is certain: the courts will have the final say.
“Students have a right to a secular public education system, and this multi-pronged attempt to inject state lawmakers’ personal religious views into Alabama public schools must be rejected by anyone who respects religious liberty,” Jayne said.
With the Defense Department moving to put more satellites into orbit this year, the stakes are rising for two space launch companies with millions invested in north Alabama.
One of them, United Launch Alliance, has a long history of carrying satellites into orbit under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which funds the launch of high-value military and intelligence satellites. The company assembles some of its rockets in a 2-million-square-foot facility in Decatur.
The No. 1 Auburn Tigers play against the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC basketball game today. The matchup will begin at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Tigers enter this matchup with a 22-2 recordwith a 10-1 record in SEC play.
After losing to Florida last week, the Tigers bounced back with an 80-68 win against Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
During the victory, three Auburn players scored double-digit points: Johni Broome, Denver Jones, and Chaney Johnson.
The Crimson Tide enter this matchup with a 21-3 record, and they also have a 10-1 record in SEC play. The team has won seven consecutive games.
In their most recent game, the Crimson Tide defeated Texas 103-80. During the victory, Alabama’s star guard Mark Sears played well. He scored 18 points and shot 6-6 from the free throw line.
Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory at 2:31 a.m. on Saturday valid from 9 p.m. until Sunday 6 p.m. for Mobile and Baldwin counties.
The weather service states, “Large breaking waves of 4 to 6 feet expected in the surf zone.”
“Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water,” describes the weather service. “Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions. Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help.”
Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
On Saturday at 2:30 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory valid from 9 p.m. until Sunday 6 a.m. for Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Escambia, Covington, Mobile and Baldwin counties.
The weather service comments, “Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph expected.”
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” adds the weather service. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.”
Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
On Saturday at 2:18 a.m. a wind advisory was issued by the National Weather Service valid for Sunday between midnight and noon for Coffee, Dale, Henry, Geneva and Houston counties.
The weather service adds, “Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts around 40 to 45 mph expected.”
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” describes the weather service. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution. Secure outdoor objects.”
Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.
Dear Eric: Yesterday I was riding my bicycle to the Newport Beach City Hall to get a new parking pass for my car. I was standing next to my bicycle by the entrance when an earnest, polite young lady came up to me and engaged me in a conversation.
She asked me if I was homeless and needed a referral to a shelter. I’m a retired 72-year-old lawyer living on Balboa Island, riding a $5,000 bicycle in my cycle clothes.
What’s an appropriate response? Should I get angry? Should I question her motives? Should I be supportive to her? Should I dress better?
– Puzzled Cyclist
Dear Cyclist: An appropriate response in this case would be “are you affiliated with an organization that helps people experiencing homelessness? Because I have the means to contribute, and I’d like to be of service to my community.”
Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.
