Strong winds and thunderstorms with gusts estimated at 60 mph moved southwest across Baldwin County on Friday, forcing officials to evacuate Gulf State Park, temporarily housing people in the park's bathhouses, said Hugh Branyon, park superintendent.
After hearing police reports of a tornado touching down near Alabama 59 at 2:25 p.m., Branyon called the evacuation.
"We tried to notify everyone we could to go to the nearest bathhouse," he said. "We had begun evacuating the golf course because of the thunder and lightning already in the area."
The initial reports of a tornado were incorrect, and it was more likely a strong updraft, said Gulf Shores police officials. The National Weather Service acknowledged hearing that a tornado had been seen in the beach city, but forecasters could not confirm those reports.
There is money to be made in LNG importing, gassifying and distribution. Prices are only going up and like it or not, winter's coming. As long as there is money to be made - however far in the future - they will find a way to build this plant.
In a statement Friday, the company said, "Compass Port remains an attractive location and the decision on whether or not to proceed with the re-filing of the application will be made after consideration of all the economic factors." If ConocoPhillips decides not to go on with the project, another energy company may well seize the opportunity.
Big news for Dauphin Island, Alabama fans today.
ConocoPhillips had been proposing a Liquefied Natural Gas regassification facility based on environmentally questionable technology to be built at Compass Point, 12 miles south of Dauphin Island. The company's proposal to build the terminal had come with an attractive package of economic incentives for the State of Alabama. Environmental groups were opposed to the facility as proposed because they felt the open-loop technology would be harmful to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Open loop regassification technology uses seawater to melt natural gas frozen for transportation.
There is a shortage of space on the beaches of Alabama this weekend. From Gulf Shores to Orange Beach finding a place to call your own might be kind of tough today and tomorrow.
The weather this weekend simply could not be better. Highs are forecast to be in the 80's under partly cloudy skies. With much of the rest of the US sweltering in the 90's in an early summer heat wave, Alabama looks like the place to be this weekend.
GULF SHORES -- Along Alabama's coast, only the clouds seemed to stay away Saturday.
Under a scorching midday sun and a crystal blue sky, Tommy Dallas leaned back in a lounge chair and observed the heavy crowd around him at Gulf Shores' public beach.
In each direction, umbrellas, beach mats and sunbathers packed the soft white sands.
"I think the beach is finally coming back," Dallas said. "This is the busiest I've seen it in three years."
Nearby, Dan Wentz of Ardmore, Ala., about six hours north, popped open a beach umbrella.
"We just wanted to do a little vacationing," said Wentz, who was joined by his wife, Melissa, and their daughter, Kelsi Anne.
It was the family's first visit to Gulf Shores, he said, and likely not their last.
They were among the thousands of vacationers Saturday who swarmed Baldwin's coastline. And in Mobile County, Dauphin Island's beaches, rental houses and stores were thick with Memorial Day weekend tourists.
Really big shrimp - as in huge shrimp. Now's the time to head to the Gulf Coast for that summer vacation. The shrimp being caught in the Gulf of Mexico today are by and large larger than normal.
And they're normally very large by shrimp standards already.
Like shrimp? I recommend Skinner's Seafood on Dauphin Island as the place to get great, and great big, shrimp at a great price. They'll even prepare it just perfectly for you. Great big, beautiful shrimp steamed and spiced perfectly and ready to eat. What could be better?
Is there such as thing as a shrimp that's too big?
Capt. Ricky Brown certainly doesn't think so. He recently got back to Bayou La Batre after 22 days zigzagging from Florida to Louisiana aboard the Beau Rivage in pursuit of shrimp. Somewhere in the shallow waters of Louisiana (and he won't say exactly where) he lucked up on some of the biggest prey in the Gulf, the elusive and much-prized U-12 count shrimp.
The shrimp count reflects the number of shrimp per pound. So U-12 means that there are 12 or fewer shrimp per pound. By comparison, 21-30 count shrimp are considered large and the popular 16-20 per pound are graded as extra large.
He had plenty of 16-20s and 31-35s, but for my money, the giant U-12s were the star attractions.
These babies are, well, huge. Monsters that defy logic and mock the term "shrimp." Read more
The Dauphin Island Times has a terrific series going on about whether Dauphin Island is a great place to vacation this year.
Should you vacation on Dauphin Island this year? Read the 2006 Dauphin Island vacation series to find out.