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Severe weather is expected to hit Alabama tonight but NOAA weather radios will be offline due to a planned software upgrade. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Birmingham has warned of an enhanced risk of severe weather, including tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail, from 7 p.m. to midnight.
The outage, affecting NWS radio transmitters in cities like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston, was scheduled months in advance and is part of a nationwide upgrade. Despite the radios being offline, NWS will continue to issue weather alerts through other channels.
Residents are urged to have multiple ways to receive weather warnings, such as enabling alerts on smartphones, using weather apps, and following local news broadcasts. Tornadoes are particularly dangerous at night, as they are harder to see and people may be asleep.
Should extensive coverage be warranted, NewsRadio 105.5 WERC will break in with our weather partner WBRC 6. Your iHeart Radio App can be used to alert you when coverage starts. https://news.iheart.com/apps/