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Warmer Weekend Ahead; Strong/Severe Storms Arrive Late Sunday Night

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Warmer Weekend Ahead; Strong/Severe Storms Arrive Late Sunday Night


COLD START: Here are some temperatures across Alabama just before sunrise

Fort Payne 30

Gadsden 31

Trenton 32

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Bessemer 33

Hueytown 33

Cullman 34

Alexander City 34

Jasper 34

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Scottsboro 34

Sylacauga 34

Evergreen 35

Birmingham 36

Greenville 36

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Anniston 36

Troy 36

Huntsville 36

Eufaula 36

Tuscaloosa 38

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Mobile 39

Andalusia 39

Montgomery 40

Decatur 40

Haleyville 40

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Dothan 41

Enterprise 42

Gulf Shores 45

Look for a sunny sky today with a high in the 68-76 degree range this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a delightful day to start the weekend; lots of sun with a high in the 70s and low 80s.

SUNDAY/MONDAY: Moisture levels begin to rise Sunday, and a few small, isolated showers are possible by afternoon. The warming trend continues; temperatures reach the low to mid 80s over the southern half of the state.

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A sharp cold front will bring a line of strong to severe thunderstorms into Alabama late Sunday night into the pre-dawn hours Monday. SPC has defined a level 2/5 risk for areas north of a line from Reform to Oneonta to Scottsboro, with a level 1/5 risk for the rest of the state.

This will be a system with very good dynamics, but marginal thermodynamics with limited instability. The main threat from the line of storms will come from strong winds, but a brief, isolated tornado can’t be ruled out, mainly over the northern third of the state.

Rain ends early Monday morning, and more cold air rolls into the Deep South. Temperatures won’t get out of the 40s Monday over North Alabama, and a freeze is likely for just all of the state by Tuesday morning with most places dipping into the 20s. Another freeze is likely early Wednesday morning for the northern 2/3 of the state.

A warming trend begins Wednesday afternoon, and afternoon highs return to the 70s by Thursday and Friday. After the rain early Monday morning, the rest of the week will be dry with sunny days and clear nights. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

ON THIS DATE IN 1954: A large F3 tornado struck Fort Mitchell, Alabama and Fort Benning, Georgia, damaging or destroying homes, buildings, and military equipment, killing two people and injuring 20 others. Another long-tracked F3 tornado began near Howard, Georgia, striking the communities Roberta, Knoxville, Lizella, Vineville and Macon, damaging or destroying over 750 homes, killing five, and injuring 75.

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Alabama football to adopt HeatSense, cutting edge heat safety technology

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Alabama football to adopt HeatSense, cutting edge heat safety technology


Melissa Fortenberry saw a problem and sought a solution, a solution Alabama football is buying into. 

Fortenberry invented HeatSense, a fitness tracker that measures athletes’ individual core body temperature with the “goal of proactively managing heat strain.” In August, Alabama will be Heat Sense’s first customer. 

“They are all in,” Fortenberry told The Tuscaloosa News. “They very much want their player health to be at the top of the list.” 

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With a background in technology, Fortenberry came up with the idea of HeatSense as a fan, watching her three kids play youth sports in from the stands. She became sick, feeling dizzy and nauseous and coming to the conclusion that the pads and turf were hotter for athletes on the field. 

Fortenberry conducted her own research and saw more reactive solutions than proactive. 

“You can see heat strain forming in people and proactively cool them or keep pushing, where today, you’re flying blind,” Fortenberry said. 

Jeff Allen, senior associate athletic director for health and performance and Alabama football’s head athletic trainer, has already been on the forefront of innovation for player safety, introducing the injury tent in 2015 to allow training staff and medical personnel to examine athletes privately on the sideline during games. 

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When Carson Tinker, a former Alabama and NFL long snapper and Fortenberry’s neighbor, heard about her idea, Allen was the first person Tinker thought of.

“Jeff was like, ‘Man, this sounds super interesting. Keep me in the loop with this,’” Tinker said. “It’s something he felt he knew that he could use. That was over a year ago now. … Now it’s all kind of come together. It’s crazy how it all kind of works out.”

“Once we got Jeff’s attention, he was really intrigued,” Fortenberry said, adding Allen “wants to be on the forefront of making the game better.” 

Members of the HeatSense team attended an Alabama practice during its fourth-quarter program in March and put sensors on 10 players. 

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“I think the feedback they heard from players was validated in what we saw,” Fortenberry said. 

Tinker views this not only as a safety tool, but an advantage overall to find a player’s peak body temperature.

“You want to be able to use the heat to your advantage. You want to be able to play your best in all conditions, but nobody knows until it’s too late and you got to get through in the cold tub because you overheated.”

Alabama is just the start for HeatSense, which has the goal of reaching three to five Division I programs this summer. 

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According to Weather Spark, the average temperature in Tuscaloosa eclipses 90 degrees during Alabama’s fall camp. Fortenberry now has a way for the Crimson Tide to respond. 

“People, I think, are afraid of the heat, but you don’t know you can do something about it,” she said. “Now you can.” 

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews





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New Poll Shows Varied Dynamics Across Alabama Republican Runoff Races

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New Poll Shows Varied Dynamics Across Alabama Republican Runoff Races


A new survey of likely Republican runoff voters in Alabama suggests the state’s four statewide runoff contests remain at different stages heading into the June 16 election, with one race showing a clear leader, another appearing highly competitive, and a third remaining largely unsettled.

According to The Alabama Poll, which surveyed 600 likely Republican runoff voters on May 28, U.S. Senate candidate Jared Hudson leads Congressman Barry Moore 48.7% to 39.2%, while 12.1% of voters remain undecided. The poll indicates Hudson has built support among voters whose preferred candidates did not advance to the runoff.

In the race for lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Wes Allen holds a narrow overall lead over Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl, 41.9% to 38.4%. However, the survey found Wahl performing slightly better among voters who report they are certain to vote and among the most frequent Republican primary voters, highlighting the potential importance of turnout in the contest. Nearly one in five voters, 19.6%, remain undecided.

The attorney general runoff shows the largest margin among the four statewide races surveyed. Katherine Robertson leads Jay Mitchell 49.1% to 31.2%, with 19.7% of respondents undecided. Poll analysts noted that Mitchell’s path to closing the gap would likely depend on winning support from voters who view him favorably but have not yet committed to a candidate.

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Meanwhile, the Republican runoff for commissioner of agriculture remains the most unsettled race in the survey. Corey Hill leads Christina Woerner McInnis 33.1% to 27.3%, but nearly 40% of likely runoff voters remain undecided, leaving substantial room for movement before Election Day.

Beyond the candidate matchups, the poll found Republican voters generally optimistic about the direction of Alabama, with 63.6% saying the state is headed in the right direction. At the same time, economic concerns continue to dominate voter priorities. Nearly 79% of respondents identified an economic issue as the most important problem facing the state, with grocery prices and utility costs cited most frequently.

The survey also found President Donald Trump’s approval rating among likely Republican runoff voters at 83.2%. Researchers reported that endorsements from both Trump and U.S. Senator Katie Britt carried similar persuasive weight among respondents.

The Alabama Poll surveyed 600 likely Republican primary runoff voters using a combination of live telephone interviews and text-message surveys. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and was conducted May 28 among voters who said they are likely to participate in the June 16 Republican runoff election.



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Two Alabama Players, One Coach Being Considered for 2027 CFB Hall of Fame Class

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Two Alabama Players, One Coach Being Considered for 2027 CFB Hall of Fame Class


Former Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones and linebacker DeMeco Ryans are under consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2027 class, the National Football Foundation announced on Monday.

Dennis Franchione, who was Alabama’s head coach during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, is also under consideration. Franchione was a two-time NAIA National Coach of the Year before moving into Division I, where he led New Mexico to its first bowl in 36 years and TCU to its first postseason win since 1957. He took over a 3-8 Alabama team and led the Tide to a 10-win season in 2002, later guiding Texas A&M to consecutive victories over Texas (2006-07) and a berth in the 2005 Cotton Bowl.

Jones is a two-time First Team All-American (2011-unanimous, 2012-consensus) and winner of the 2012 NFF Campbell, 2012 Rimington, 2011 Outland and 2011 Wuerffel trophies. He Led Alabama to three national titles and two SEC crowns.

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The three-time First Team All-SEC selection is arguably the most decorated offensive lineman in school history, winning national honors at three different positions (center, tackle, guard). The 2012 Alabama captain played through Lisfranc injury with at least two torn ligaments suffered in SEC Championship Game. He also played in the national title game before having surgery that kept him out of the NFL combine.

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DeMeco Ryans, who is currently the head coach of the Houston Texans, could be considered the best player of the Mike Shula years as he was the program’s top draft pick between 1998-08 (between first-round selections Dwayne Rudd and Andre Smith).

During his senior season, the linebacker led Alabama with 76 tackles including 9.5 for a loss, en route to being named a first-team All-American, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and Lott Trophy winner as college football’s best impact defensive player.

These three are among 80 players and nine coaches from the FBS, along with 99 players and 39 coaches from the NCAA divisional and NAIA ranks.

Alabama currently has 28 representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame, with the most recent inductees being Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram in the 2026 class and seven-time national champion (six at Alabama) head coach Nick Saban in the 2025 class. Ingram was the first Crimson Tide player under Saban to be inducted.

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Alabama in the College Football Hall of Fame

(Member, Year Inducted)

  1. Don Hutson, 1951
  2. Frank Thomas, 1951
  3. Fred Sington, 1955
  4. Wallace Wade, 1955
  5. Don Whitmire (transferred to Navy after two years), 1956
  6. Johnny Mack Brown, 1957
  7. Pooley Hubert, 1964
  8. Millard “Dixie” Howell, 1970
  9. John Cain, 1973
  10. Lee Roy Jordan, 1983
  11. Riley Smith, 1985
  12. Paul “Bear” Bryant, 1986
  13. Vaughn Mancha, 1990
  14. Harry Gilmer, 1993
  15. Ozzie Newsome, 1994
  16. John Hannah, 1999
  17. Johnny Musso, 2000
  18. Billy Neighbors, 2003
  19. Cornelius Bennett, 2005
  20. Woodrow Lowe, 2009
  21. Gene Stallings, 2010
  22. Marty Lyons, 2011
  23. Derrick Thomas, 2014
  24. E.J. Junior, 2020
  25. Sylvester Croom, 2022
  26. Antonio Langham, 2024
  27. Nick Saban, 2025
  28. Mark Ingram, 2026

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