Storms Ahead For T-Town; Crawfish Boil For First Responders

Rise and shine, Tuscaloosa!

In today's Daily, I have updates on the possibility for severe weather today and later in the week, along with a story about a Tuscaloosa mom who designed a new kind of urine funnel. That's just the tip of the iceberg, so let's get started.

First, today's weather:

Tuscaloosa can expect an 80% chance of rain today, with showers before 1 p.m. that will eventually give way to thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening hours. The high for today is expected to be around 70 degrees, with a low of 58.

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Patch Pick: Tuscaloosa County EMA officials will return to Northport Baptist Church today from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. for its coronavirus vaccine pop-up registration event. I spoke with Tuscaloosa County EMA Deputy Director Tamara Croom on Monday to hear more about their plans for the week.

Here are the top 5 stories today in Tuscaloosa

1. While thunderstorms are expected today, the National Weather Service forecast office in Birmingham says a strong storm system could bring a potential for damaging winds and tornadoes Thursday afternoon into Thursday night for west Alabama. I'll be on the alert and provide updates as they come in, so be sure to subscribe to free breaking news alerts from Tuscaloosa Patch.

2. The Alabama women's basketball team also grabbed a big postseason victory on Monday, defeating the University of North Carolina 80-71 in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Jordan Lewis tallied 32 points in the effort. The Tide will now face the No. 2 seed Maryland Terrapins on Wednesday.

3. Cecil Hurt penned an insightful and inspirational newspaper story about Kingston Pettway — the 9-year-old son of former Alabama basketball star and current UA assistant coach Antoine Pettway and Kim Minor Pettway. Kingston was born with autism and the Pettway family recently spoke out about their experiences.. (Tuscaloosa News)

4. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday amended her coronavirus emergency order. The update now changes social distancing recommendations from six feet to three feet, while still mandating that face-coverings be worn indoors. The statewide mask mandate is set to expire on April 9 and is not expected to be extended.

5. One quirky, yet interesting and impactful story focuses on Abbi Jones — a Tuscaloosa mother and the inventor of EcoPi. The product is one of the first disposable urine funnels on the market, which is designed to cleanly guide urine into a medical receptacle. (Tuscaloosa Thread)

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Today in Tuscaloosa

- S2 Event Security will hold a hiring event at the La Quinta Inn at 3920 McFarland Ave East. Click here for more information. (4 p.m. until 7 p.m.)

- Karaoke On The Rooftoop at Hotel Indigo (6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.)

Tuscaloosa Patch Notebook

- The Booth will host a first responders crawfish boil on Friday from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m., which will be free to any first responders and frontline medical workers. The cost of admission for the general public will be $20 for all-you-can eat crawfish.

- The Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education will hold its regular meeting today. Click here for the full agenda from the meeting.

- Kelsey Rush was named a recipient of the United Way Young Leaders Society's West Alabama Young Leaders Award —"United in Service."

- Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue on Monday announced the recent promotions of the following employees: Battalion Chief Jeff Roberts, Captain Blake Squires, Lieutenant Adam Kisner, Apparatus Operator Mark Tunnell and Apparatus Operator Colby Pate.

- The City of Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustment held its regular meeting Monday. Click here to watch the live stream on Facebook.

- The Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA) will host an Easter egg hunt this Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. at the Bobby Miller Activity Center. Cost to attend will be $3 for members and $5 for non-members.

- The Brookwood High Panthers softball team rode a 7-run 7th inning on its way to a 16-6 win over the Holy Spirt Catholic Saints on Monday.

- The Sipsey Valley High Bears shut out the Central Falcons 11-0 in high school baseball action Monday.

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