Beginning Thursday night and into Friday morning, a blast of extremely dangerous arctic air will reach central Alabama, posing extreme risks to people, pets, plants and home.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Birmingham is forecasting the possibility for wintry-mix precipitation before temperatures drop into the single digits by Friday morning. The biggest impact, according to NWS, will be extremely cold wind chill.
“One of the biggest impacts however, will be the frigid Wind Chills or “feels like” temps,” said NWS in a post on Facebook Thursday morning. “We’re expecting between 0 and -10° wind chills along and north of I-20 and single digits as far south as Montgomery. Wind gusts as high as 40mph are likely thru Friday morning. A Wind Chill Warning is in effect across northern counties in Central Alabama, while a Wind Chill Advisory is in effect elsewhere.”
Regina Myers, Coordinator at Walker County EMA, said it’s important to take steps to protect, not just yourself, but also your home and pets.
“Bring your pets indoors,” she said. “If you cannot do that, please provide them with a heat lamp and bedding.”
While Alabama Power is preparing to work to ensure that no one is without power during this cold snap, it is important to remember to have supplies in the event that your home does lose power.
Myers said that includes non-perishable food for your family, baby formula, pet food, extra batteries and, of course, a source of heat to stay warm.
“We want people safe, first and foremost,” she said. “The best thing you can do is a have a plan in the event that you don’t have power and can’t get somewhere else. Having emergency supplies on-hand is important anytime there is a risk of dangerous road conditions.”
Water companies across the state are warning customers to take precautions to protect their homes’ pipes as temperatures will be below freezing for several days. However, it is equally important to have fresh drinking water in the event that your pipes freeze.
“Several water works have posted the potential issues on water pipes freezing and have listed ways to help prevent that,” Myers said. “However, we recommend having water on hand in case your pipes do freeze.”
Beginning at 12 a.m. Friday morning, Walker County will be under a wind chill warning until noon on Friday, a hard freeze warning until 9 a.m. on Christmas day and a wind chill advisory until Saturday at noon.
