Alabama
Severe storms rolling across in Alabama on Friday
Strong to severe storms were rolling across parts of Alabama on Friday, and a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect of part of the state:
The watch covers parts of north and central Alabama and will be in effect until 10 a.m.
The Alabama counties in the severe thunderstorm watch are Bibb, Blount, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Pickens, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center said wind gusts up to 70 mph will be possible in the watch area, as well as “a tornado or two.”
Forecasters were tracking a squall line of strong to severe storms that was dropping to the southeast. There have been several warnings issued so far this morning for segments along that line.
Including a tornado warning, which will be in effect for Lamar County until 6 a.m.:
The National Weather Service said that as of 5:39 a.m. severe thunderstorms capable of producing a tornado were located along a line extending from near Blooming Grove to Millport and were moving east at 35 mph.
The weather service has gotten a few reports of wind damage and hail so far today in the northern part of the state.
Those storms could maintain intensity through today, and the Storm Prediction Center has a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe storms for parts of west, central and south Alabama. A Level 2 risk means that scattered severe storms will be possible.
A larger part of Alabama has a Level 1 out of 5 risk, which means that isolated severe storms will be possible.
Alabama
‘Alabama White Thang’ turns up in new graphic novel ‘Snag’
A new young adult graphic novel created by an Alabama-born artist features one of the state’s more legendary figures.
“The Alabama White Thang” figures prominently in “Snag,” a story scripted and drawn by Hannah Hill, a Brooklyn-based artist who grew up in Gadsden.
Its first chapter is available for free here. Further chapters will arrive in later weeks.
“Snag” tells the story of Sarah, a 12-year-old girl growing up in a society after its collapse, navigating familiar adolescent issues such as bullying and loneliness. Helping her through it all is the Alabama White Thang, the hairy forest giant of local lore.
The “White Thang” is an 8-foot-tall, furry white creature with glowing red eyes, which reportedly wanders the area between Morgan, Etowah and Jefferson counties. Witnesses say it has the ability to move extremely quickly and emits an eerie screech that has the sound of a woman’s scream. A 2019 survey of mythical creatures around the country gave the White Thang the top spot for Alabama.
While believers maintain it might be some kind of Sasquatch, various sticks in the mud say it’s probably just an albino bear.
It has been sighted in a triangle around communities such as Happy Hollow, Walnut Grove, Moody’s Chapel and Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. In Huntsville, the phrase “Alabama White Thing” is used to describe a humanoid, possibly alien figure spotted in caves or drainage ditches in Jones Valley, along Governor’s Drive and on Monte Sano Mountain.
A team of researchers of the cryptid started a Facebook page called Alabama White Thang.
“Snag” is a dark fairy tale named for the dead tree where Sarah is raised by the creature. Sarah must eventually decide which world she wants to be a part of – the gritty, terrifying world of the humans, or the magical Appalachian forest she shares with the creature.
Hill, 34, has been an artist in New York City for about 10 years. The idea for “Snag” first showed up in her imagination about eight years ago, when she read a story about the White Thang on AL.com. She also felt torn between two competing worlds – missing Alabama and trying to find a place in the art world.
“I created a little story to be able to occupy my mind on commutes, mostly,” she said. “So I spent a really long time knitting the story together, sitting on the 6 train.”
“Snag” stayed in her imagination, even as she saw it potentially as a short film. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she started showing some of her visual ideas to her fellow residents at the Vermont Studio Center. The idea seemed right for a graphic novel.
“I spent quite a long time hand drawing the frames in sumi-ink because I felt the very dark, black ink and the gritty blooms it created really captured something I was going for,” she said. “Meanwhile, my core body of paintings were becoming extremely colorful and so then were my visions of Snag. So I took the opportunity to start the piece over, this time in color, and with the help of digital painting via the iPad, which revolutionized the way I worked digitally.”
Though the story would be categorized as young adult, Hill prefers the term “y’allternative.”
“I know we can challenge young adults,” she said. “We don’t have to pander to them and we do better when we don’t. We’ve all gone through things like bullying, and we will go through even more complicated situations in whatever lies ahead. I think it’s okay to talk about these things.”
Hill has been inspired by her Alabama background in various paintings, saying she had always been drawn to “any dark, wild, spooky narrative,” which made the White Thang a natural subject. But the human characters of “Snag” deal with very human issues, like bullying, substance abuse, loss and grief.
“I want my artwork to be freaky, a little trashy, and a complete mystery,” she said. “As long as I keep surprising myself, I’m happy.”
Alabama
Deadspin | WCWS roundup: Jocelyn Erickson's 4 RBIs help Florida beat Alabama
Jocelyn Erickson went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, blasting a three-run home run in the sixth inning, to lift Florida to a 6-4 victory over Alabama on Sunday in an elimination game in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The Gators (53-14) will take on second-seeded Oklahoma in the WCWS semifinals, which begin Monday morning. Florida would need to beat the Sooners twice to advance to the championship series. The Crimson Tide finished their season with a 39-20 record.
Erickson was a member of Oklahoma’s WCWS title team last season before transferring to Florida.
Keagan Rothrock (32-8) went the distance for Florida, allowing the four runs (three earned) on seven hits in her seven innings. She walked one and struck out five. Two of the runs Rothrock yielded came in the sixth, but Alabama’s comeback bid came up short.
Marlie Giles went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Tide. Alabama starter Kayla Beaver went four innings, giving up two runs and six hits to go along with one walk and zero strikeouts. Jocelyn Briski (10-6) took the loss after giving up Reagan Walsh’s RBI single in the fifth, which snapped a 2-2 tie.
UCLA 3, Stanford 1
NiJaree Canady struck out eight in going the distance as the Cardinal knocked off the Bruins in an elimination game.
Stanford (50-16) advances to face Texas on Monday in the semifinals. The Cardinal would need to beat the Longhorns twice in back-to-back games to advance to the championship series. Texas beat Stanford 4-0 in Thursday’s opening round. UCLA’s season ends 43-12 after being held to just one run over back-to-back losses.
Canady, the national player of the year, has pitched all 19 innings for the Cardinal in the WCWS. She got off to a hot start, striking out Bruins’ star Maya Brady looking to begin the game. Canady struck out Brady three times, Brady’s second consecutive game with three strikeouts after just one pitcher in the regular season — Canady — struck her out twice in a game.
Canady retired 12 consecutive batters before hitting Savannah Pola with two outs in the seventh. Thessa Malau’ulu singled after the hit batter to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but Canady got Ramsey Suarez to ground out to end the game.
UCLA struck first when Megan Grant homered to lead off the second.
Stanford grabbed the lead in the third. Taryn Kern’s RBI double tied the game and, two batters later, Ava Gall delivered a run-scoring single. Stanford added an insurance run in the fifth.
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
Alabama
Erickson's 4 RBIs help Florida top Alabama and advance to the Women's CWS semifinals
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jocelyn Erickson homered and knocked in four runs and No. 4 seed Florida beat No. 14 Alabama 6-4 on Sunday night to advance to the Women’s College World Series semifinals and eliminate the Crimson Tide.
Korbe Otis and Ariel Kowalewski each added two hits for the Gators (53-14) in a game that started three hours late because of rain and lightning.
Florida advanced to play three-time defending national champion Oklahoma in the semifinals Monday. The Gators will have to beat the Sooners twice to reach the best-of-three championship series, while Oklahoma will need just one win to move on.
Erickson, a catcher, won a national championship with Oklahoma last season before transferring and will have to get through her former team to win another.
Florida pitcher Keagan Rothrock recovered from a rough outing against Texas the night before. The freshman gave up three earned runs on seven hits and now is alone as the nation’s leader with 32 wins.
Kayla Beaver got the start for Alabama and gave up two runs on six hits in four innings. Jocelyn Briski got the loss in relief for the Crimson Tide (39-20).
Alabama opened the scoring in the second. Bailey Dowling got on after a fielding error and she scored on a grounder by Riley Valentine.
Florida tied it in the third when Erickson’s single knocked in Skylar Wallace. Otis scored on a fielder’s choice after getting on with a walk to put the Gators up 2-1.
Alabama tied it at 2 in the third when Marlie Giles singled to score Lauren Johnson.
Reagan Walsh singled and knocked in a run in the fifth to put Florida back in front.
Erickson came up with runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth, and Alabama switched from Briski to Alea Johnson to give her a different look. Erickson took a Johnson pitch over the centerfield wall to make it 6-2.
Alabama hung tough. Kali Heivilin’s RBI single in the sixth made it 6-4. But Rothrock put the Crimson Tide down in order in the seventh.
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