WINTER STORM UPDATES: Northport Garbage Trucks Running Tuesday

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Here's a timestamped series of updates we will be providing throughout the day as Winter Storm Uri moves over Tuscaloosa and the rest of Alabama.

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8 P.M. — The city of Northport says its garbage and recycling routes will run as scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 16. Trucks will run on a delayed schedule beginning at 10 a.m. While the Tuscaloosa metro area has seen little impact in Monday evening, the temperature has dropped to 26 degrees following a day of heavy rain.

Tuscaloosa County EMA announced Monday evening that Church of Movement Towards Freedom - Jesus Way will open as another warming station at 2681 24th Street Tuscaloosa, starting Monday 8 p.m. Skyland Baptist Church and Forest Lake United Methodist Church are also both open as warming stations for those in need of a warm place to stay as temperatures are expected to stay below freezing through the night and into Tuesday.

According to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, no damage or storm reports have been filed for Tuscaloosa County from meteorologists or storm spotters as of 8 p.m. Alabama Power is also reporting a total of four outages in Tuscaloosa.

Farther north in Marion County saw impacts earlier in the day and into the evening Monday, with Journal Record reporter Scott Johnson telling Patch that approximately 20 wrecks had been reported in the county in the last 24 hours, along with numerous reports of downed trees due to heavy ice accumulation.

He also said there were several reports of blown transformers and power outages across the county, with the town of Hackleburg completely in the dark. Alabama Power is currently reporting 22% of Marion County without power, impacting 5,359 customers.

"911 told me they have had too many tree reports to count," he said.

5:30 P.M. — The city of Tuscaloosa Monday afternoon announced it will delay garbage and recycling routes scheduled for Tuesday due potentially hazardous driving conditions and below-freezing temperatures. Routes will be staggered, with Tuesday being collected on Wednesday, while the next two collection days will also be pushed back one day.

As of 5:30 p.m., the temperature in Tuscaloosa was 32 degrees and no damage reports or road closures have been announced. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did say Monday afternoon, though, that several roads in neighboring Pickens County had been deemed impassable due to ice accumulation. These roads include: Alabama Highway 17 north of Reform, U.S.Highway 82 west of Reform, Alabama Highway 14 from Aliceville to the Mississippi state line and Alabama Highway 86 to the Mississippi state line.

ALSO READ: How To Monitor Tuscaloosa Traffic Conditions During Winter Storm

Following widespread power outages across Tuscaloosa County earlier in the day, getting as high as 1,807, Alabama Power reports 63 customers in the county are currently without power.

On the other side of the Black Warrior River in Northport, Mayor Bobby Herndon said on Facebook that the city would begin sanding bridges at 5:15 p.m.

2:30 P.M. — After winter weather concerns prompted closures by the Tuscaloosa County School System and Tuscaloosa City Schools Monday, both school districts announced they will remained closed Tuesday, when the heaviest impacts are expected.

2 P.M. — DCH Health System has announced its remote coronavirus vaccination site will now be closed on Tuesday. The health system also closed the site Monday due to winter weather concerns. Those with appointments scheduled for Tuesday will be automatically rescheduled for the same time on Sunday, Feb. 21. DCH says its vaccination team will send emails to those who provided one during registration, while calls will be attempted for those who do not have an email on file.

What's more, power outages for over 1,800 Tuscaloosa residents have mostly been addressed, with Alabama Power reporting a total of 77 customers currently in the dark. The Northport Gazette's Aaron Bonner confirmed to Patch that power was briefly out in the Five Points area of Tuscaloosa, but was restored shortly thereafter. Most of the outages were reported in Coker, Cottondale and Northport.

As it stands, no storm damage reports have been filed with the NOAA Storm Prediction Center for Tuscaloosa County or the surrounding west Alabama region.

NOON — According to Alabama Power, 1,807 of its customers are without power in Tuscaloosa County. The majority of those outages are reportedly in the Coker, Cottondale and Northport areas. In neighboring Pickens County, 285 are currently without power.

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