Map courtesy of the National Weather Service
Following a Sunday afternoon press conference during which Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency, schools around Alabama have announced closings.
Shelby County Schools will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, according to an email from Public Relations and Community Education Supervisor Cindy Warner. All Shelby County Schools offices will also be closed. The city of Chelsea also announced Chelsea City Hall, Chelsea Library and the Chelsea Community Center will be closed on Monday.
Hoover City Schools have also announced they will be closed on Monday, but a decision regarding closing on Tuesday has not yet been made. The Hoover City Schools Board of Education meeting, scheduled for Monday night, has also been canceled.
In the press conference, Ivey urged all Alabamians, but especially those in the direct path of the storm to be prepared.
“Please be sure that you take this storm seriously,” she said.
Ivey said the state is ready for Irma, and that she has activated the National Guard and directed the opening of at least four emergency management control centers in the eastern half of the state.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck event,” she said.
Ivey said President Donald Trump had called her twice Sunday, assuring her that the full force of federal agencies was ready to engage in Alabama as well.
Additionally, Ivey said Alabama stands ready to help those in Florida hit with the full force of Irma, and the state will send resources to those areas as Florida officials see useful.
John De Block of the National Weather Service said at the press conference that most of Alabama will experience regular thunderstorm conditions, but that there is a high likelihood that Irma will move into at least part of the state as a tropical storm before weakening as it moves northwest.
Over the 24-36 hours between Monday and Wednesday, De Block said that those in manufactured or mobile homes in the path of Irma might consider moving to a more sturdy place of shelter, as he and other forecasters are increasingly concerned about the impact of falling trees on structures.
De Block also said that because of the chance of torrential rainfall, drivers should as always avoid driving into standing water.
Those considering travel to other parts of the state should check algotraffic.com for traffic information and conditions. To stay up to date on the storm, go to weather.gov/bmx.
Other Hoover events/meetings still on
Other city of Hoover events and meetings are scheduled to go as planned.
Hoover’s Patriot Day ceremony at Hoover Fire Station No. 2 off Patton Chapel Road is still scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Also, the Hoover City Council is holding budget hearings with city department heads Monday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Here is the revised schedule for those hearings:
Monday, Sept. 11
- 10 a.m. — Budget orientation
- 10:30 a.m. — Hoover Municipal Court
- 11 a.m. — Engineering/Sewer/Landscape architecture and urban forestry
- Noon — Lunch
- 12:30 p.m. — Fleet
- 1 p.m. — Public works
- 1:30 — Hoover Metropolitan Complex
- 2:30 p.m. — Park maintenance/Rec Center/Senior Center
Tuesday, Sept. 12
- 9 a.m. — Building services
- 9:30 a.m. – Mayor’s office/Beautification Board
- 9:45 a.m. — Human resources
- 10 a.m. — City clerk’s office
- 10:15 a.m. — Revenue
- 11 a.m. — Police/Dispatch
- Noon — Lunch
- 12:30 p.m. — Fire
- 1:30 p.m. — Hoover Public Library
- 2:30 p.m. – Operations/Risk/Events
- 3:30 p.m. — Information and reporting
- 4 p.m. — Technology
The Hoover City Council also still will hold a special-called meeting at 5 p.m. to consider economic development incentives for three shopping centers and proposed agreements for the city to lease the Artists on the Bluff facility in Bluff Park from the Hoover school board and sublease it to the Artists on the Bluff group.
The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to have a work session at 5 p.m. in the conference room behind the council chambers and its action meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers. All of these meetings are open to the public.
