Trees down, power out for thousands after Saturday storms hit Central Alabama

Afternoon storms and rough winds downed multiple trees in Birmingham and Alabama Power customers across Central Alabama were left without power on Saturday.

The City of Birmingham sent crews to respond to reports of downed trees blocking up to 30 streets or rights of way, according to a statement released on social media.

“Crews with the City of Birmingham’s Department of Public Works are responding to multiple reports of downed trees in the aftermath of high winds from this afternoon’s thunderstorms,“ the statement read.

City trucks could be seen carting off broken trees, while some residents tried to clear their own – a familiar sight after weeks of stormy weather producing high winds.

On social media, people complained of downed trees and power outages in Tuscaloosa, Townley, and Empire, among other places. At 4:21 p.m. the Oneonta Police Department reported that well-traveled U.S. 231 would be “closed for at least the next six hours due to downed power lines and trees.”

There were 2,596 active power outages affecting 75,588 customers in Central Alabama as of early Saturday evening. Nearly 26,000 of those customers were in Jefferson County.

According to Alabama Power, crews and an additional 400 support personnel are assessing storm damage and working to return electricity to affected customers.