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.
Come to Fort Morgan for an informative evening touring historic Fort Morgan. See and learn about life in the Civil War as uniformed interpreters take you on a guided tour of Fort Morgan and tell the sory of Fort Morgan's Civil War service.
This article written by Dominick A. Miserandino is hilarious. In a quick three pages he describes a whirlwind trip to Gulf Shores where he discovers many of the joys unknown to anyone who hasn't been there. In fact the genesis of his article is a look at why Gulf Shores is so unknown.
If you've never been to Gulf Shores, go. Simple as that. This article describes it to a tee, but until you actually experience all the Alabama Gulf Coast has to offer first hand you simply can't imagine how truly amazing it is.
The beach is literally right there. It seems that this is the big thing that everybody loves about Gulf Shores. I mentioned that the condos are like monoliths on the beach and this is mostly because of that visual discrepancy between the beach and the hotel. What needs to be emphasized is that when we say we’re on the beach, we really mean it. Okay, picture this yourself. You take a 15-story condominium and you’re going to put it near the beach. How close do you put it?
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.
Art of marbling slated at museum
"Suminagashi: The Art of Marbling" will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17, at the Fort Morgan Museum.
Participants in the program will learn a decorative technique that is thousands of years old. Suminagashi, or marbling, is the Japanese art of printing multi-colored swirled or stone-like patterns on paper or fabric. The patterns are formed by first floating the colors on the surface of a liquid, then laying paper or fabric onto the colors to absorb them.
Participants will marble both paper and cloth, both of which can be used in a variety of projects from scrapbooking to quilting. Marbling is a recognized technique in the 4-H "Decorate Your Duds" program.
According to a Mobile Register article this morning Orange Beach is adopting a standard five flag beach and surf warning system. It's a standard system used by beaches elsewhere along the gulf coast.
Dauphin Island is notably not among those communities using the system, which alerts beach goers to potential hazards according to the color of the flag being flown.
A green flag signifies calm conditions, the all clear. Yellow means conditions are moderately risky. Red indicates strong, dangerous surf and currents. A double red flag signals that the water is closed due to rough current and surf conditions. Finally, a purple flag means that dangerous marine life is present.