NOAA

Hurricane Isaias is forecast to miss the oil industry’s biggest hubs along the Gulf Coast, but could still nudge fuel prices higher if it triggers power outages that shut down refineries for processing crude, according to experts. An extended refinery shutdown would impact fuel supplies that already have taken a hit from the U.S. war against Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Hurricane forecasters are keeping an eye on the progress of Isaias. The system grew to tropical storm strength on Wednesday, and is expected to be a hurricane when it reaches anywhere form Gulfport in Mississippi, to Mobile, to Panama City Beach in Florida. The latest forecast has landfall expected sometime Friday Night. Before Isaias formed, APR student reporter John Underwood talked with three experts for tips on how to get ready for this year’s hurricane season. One special note—John’s story talks about preparing for evacuation.EDITOR'S Note— Local leaders in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama are advising residents of low lying areas to voluntarily evacuate. In Florida, the Associated Press is reporting that some residents of RV parks in Gulf County and Okaloosa County (Zones A and B) are under a mandatory evacuation order.

Communities on the U.S. Gulf Coast distributed sandbags and closed beaches as Tropical Storm Bertha threatened to bring flooding and strong winds Wednesday from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana.

The National Weather Service is confirming a fourth tornado during last weekend's severe winter weather outbreak.It touched down in southwestern Houston County, along Decatur Road, on Sunday afternoon.The EF0 had winds of up to 85 miles-per-hour.

A massive winter storm set the stage for a brutal travel day Sunday, with airlines warning of widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation's busiest airports. The disappointment of lost flights is being felt in Alabama as well. The website Flightaware says Huntsville International Airport had forty one cancellations as of this morning. Farther south, Birmingham Shuttlesworth International had forty seven.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency ahead of the icy blast approaching the state. Ivey signed the proclamation for nineteen northern counties

Millions of Americans from New Mexico to Alabama to the Carolinas are bracing for a potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, while Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston could see enough snow to make travel very difficult or nearly impossible, forecasters say.

The National Weather Service in Huntsville says the Tennessee Valley, including the Huntsville area and the Shoals, could be in for a winter emergency starting as soon as Friday night. A cold front from the north combined with moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico could lead to roads left impassible by snow and ice.

Huntsville, Dothan, Birmingham, and Garden City in Cullman County spread the word early about the brutal overnight cold. The low temperatures along the Tennessee Valley, over the weekend and into Monday morning, are forecast to be as low as the mid teens. Even the Wiregrass region toward the south was predicted to be in the mid-twenties.

Space weather forecasters issued an alert for incoming severe solar storms that could produce colorful northern lights and temporarily disrupt communications. This may result in an "Aurora Borealis" or Northern Lights, as far south as Alabama.