In anticipation of severe winter weather and snow coming to most of the state, including the Gulf Coast, several school systems in south Alabama have announced changes to their schedule for this week.

Dangerously cold temperatures are expected to settle in tonight over most of the state. A winter storm watch has been issued for south Alabama and lower central Alabama starting Tuesday. Precipitation—snow, sleet, freezing rain, or a wintry mix—will begin in southwest Alabama Tuesday morning and continue through the day, moving eastward.

However, it’s still not clear how much snow can be expected. Transportation will still be hazardous, with forecasters warning that roads could be icy into Wednesday.

See the list of school closings and changes below. Most schools will be closed Monday, Jan. 20, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday.

This list will be updated as more information becomes available.

Mobile County Public Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21

Baldwin County Public Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Washington County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Escambia County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Clarke County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Monroe County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Conecuh County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Geneva County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Choctaw County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22. Students provided virtual learning information.

Houston County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Henry County Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Wallace Community College: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Orange Beach City Schools: Virtual learning Tuesday, Jan. 21

Gulf Shores City Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21

Saraland City Schools: Decision to be made by Sunday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m.

Dothan City Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Geneva City Schools: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Mobile (includes lower half of Alabama): Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

UMS-Wright Preparatory School: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21

St. Paul’s Episcopal School: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21

Bayside Academy: Closed Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 22

Four-star Elba senior tailback Alvin Henderson produced the season of all seasons in 2024 leading the state of Alabama, and the nation, in total rushing yards (3,620) and rushing touchdowns (61) and accomplished the feat in far less carries (276) than the next six players on the national leader board. But with each new season brings new opportunities for the elite and determined to make their mark in the record books. The 2025 fall schedule in the Yellow Hammer State has a lot of ground and pound talent with speed that has a high bar to reach thanks to the Auburn signee.

Fans of the rushing attack have to love what Cameron Phinizee is doing for Russellville. The 2026 prospect put together another 2,000-plus yard season and contributed to the passing attack against 5A competition. In just 11 games, Phinizee romped for 2,331 yards off 231 totes, scoring the rock 28 times. He also hauled in 17 passes for 175 yards. The sophomore season was much of the same, but in 12 games played, rushing for 2,378 yards with 40 ground scores. Recruiting interest is coming in from FSU, Troy, and Georgia Southern with three D-I offers extended.

The offensive attack for Berry High School was unrelenting throughout the fall months, piling up 619 total points in a 13-game season. The headliner in the Wildcats onslaught was Ayden Lake Norris. Norris turned 203 carries into 2,293 yards popping into the end zone a mind-blowing 39 times. The big plays continued with 12 receptions going for 175 yards posting six more points on the board. If the all-out effort on offense wasn’t enough, the Class of 2026 talent was credited with 119 tackles, punted three times, and took eight kicks back for 153 yards and six punts for another 142.

When opportunity knocked, Spencer Unruh answered the door. Jumping from 87 carries as a sophomore to 274 as a junior, Unruh went beast mode compiling 2,029 yards in 11 games with 23 trips into the end zone earning 5A first team All-State honors. Getting the ball to Unruh in other facets of the offense, 12 receptions went for 104 yards with another touchdown on the board for Corner High School. Added to the great season, a 96-yard kickoff return. Auburn, Ole Miss, and North Alabama got Unruh on campus for game-day visits in 2024.

All eyes are on Ezavier Crowell. The 2027 recruit is racing to the 30-offer milestone listed by some services as a five-star. Blessed with size and 10.6 speed in the 100 meters, Crowell surpassed the 1,700 rushing mark again in 2024, this time reaching 1,964 yards in 15 games with 31 rushing scores. Jackson High School worked their standout into more of the offense seeing nine receptions go for 258 yards with two more touchdowns. Offers have been handed over from Alabama, Washington, USC, Tennessee, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Auburn among others.

A big sophomore year turned into an even bigger junior campaign for Braden Gilliland. After just popping over 1,000 rush yards in 2023, Appalachian High School rode to a 9-3 season thanks in part to Gilliland’s 1,923 yards and 24 touchdowns. The smaller schools need their athletes on both sides of the ball, and Gilliland did just that for the Eagles tallying 84 tackles and three sacks.

Taking on 5A Alabama squads, Jake Harper was an all-everything player for Fairview High School in ’24. On defense, Harper had 61 tackles and five sacks. On offense, the 2026 recruit completed 10-of-14 pass attempts for 164 yards with three touchdowns and without an interception. The attention is on Harper out of the Aggies’ backfield producing 1,901 yards off 160 carries with 25 touchdowns.

One can’t think of Green County High School without Ronald Wilder Jr. popping into mind. Wilder was a two-way player and did everything possible in the Tigers’ backfield. Wilder added another 1,000-yard season to the resume hitting 1,884 as a junior with 15 touchdowns. He completed 17-of-25 for 264 and even caught four passes. On defense, Wilder chipped in 51 tackles. North Alabama and Troy have given Wilder offers with a game-day invite to Tuscaloosa.

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — In flooded agricultural fields near the Tennessee River, tens of thousands of sandhill cranes stand tall among broken corn stalks and shallow water searching for corn, berries, seeds and insects.

The sound and sight of so many cranes clustered together creates a chorus of trills, trumpets and honks throughout the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Center in northern Alabama during the winter.

The annual migration of sandhill cranes brings bird-watchers in droves to see the tall birds up close, but also the chance to catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered whooping cranes that migrate in much smaller numbers to Wheeler. Alongside the cranes, plenty of other birds can be spotted at Wheeler, including geese, ducks, bald eagles, kestrels and hawks.

“It’s a birder’s paradise,” park ranger David Young noted.

The cranes, with their distinctive red foreheads and gray feathers, fly to Alabama from the Great Lakes annually. The sandhill cranes started staying overwinter at Wheeler starting in the mid-1990s and the numbers increased dramatically in the mid-2000s, Young said. Last year, the sandhill population that wintered at Wheeler reached a new record of 30,000 cranes.

“Here in the Tennessee Valley, we have three things that these cranes need,” Young said. “The wide open fields here around our visitor center. The leftover crop and the natural foods that they like to forage on in those fields. And then open mudflats and shallow water on the Tennessee River and its tributaries.”

The refuge has become a hotspot for birders to break out the binoculars and even get closer to the 4-foot (1.2-meter) tall cranes as visitors stay hidden behind photography blinds and a two-level observation center. An annual Festival of the Cranes in January brings more attention and visitors.

The cranes put on an impressive show, dancing on their slender legs, flapping their wings and sticking their long beaks in the air to vocalize with purring and squawks as they socialize.

Diana Maybury-Sharp, from Birmingham, regularly comes to Wheeler with friends to hike and look at birds.

“It’s pretty extraordinary. I’ve seen them in other parts of the country where there were just a few,” Maybury-Sharp said. “They’re not vocal like they are here. There’s so many here that it’s an unusual experience.”

The whooping cranes, part of the eastern migratory population that comes from Wisconsin, started migrating to Alabama in 2004 and their population is about between 12 and 20 each winter, said Young.

Whooping cranes were nearly wiped out in the early 1900s by hunters and loss of habitat from farming. Recovery and reintroduction efforts have slowly increased their wild and captive populations to more than 800, according to the International Crane Foundation.

Migratory whooping cranes depend on freshwater wetland habitats in Texas and the southeast, which could be affected by rising sea levels and droughts, according to the foundation.

They are sometimes hard to spot amongst the shorter crowd of sandhills, but their height and white feathers help them stand out. Young said the migration patterns of the cranes may change depending on the climate trends of both their nesting locations and their winter homes.

“It’s hard to say how long they will continue to winter here in north Alabama,” Young said. “And maybe they may not need to come this far south in the future. But for now, we’re really enjoying their presence and making sure to provide that habitat for them and the opportunity for people to view them here too.”

Rob Broeren, of Huntsville, brought along his telephoto lens and camera and found a good spot to practice his wildlife photography hobby. He comes to the refuge about a dozen times each year to photograph the birds and ducks.

“You just need to be patient and wait for them to do something interesting and make their calls,” Broeren said. “You get that cool shot and that’s a good day.”

Broeren was scouting locations for friends coming in from out of town who wanted a chance to see the rarest of cranes.

“Birders are big on a checklist of seeing lots of different birds,” Broeren said. “And so people that haven’t seen that species because it is quite rare are willing to drive kind of a long way if they think they have a good shot of seeing it.”

The sandhill cranes will start leaving the refuge in mid-February. Young said he notices a lot more agitation and activity when the birds are signaling they are ready to make the journey back to their nesting grounds.

“It’s usually on a day when we have some sort of a south wind,” Young said. “They’re smart and they will ride the wind back to their breeding grounds whenever it’s most convenient for them.”