Strong thunderstorms swept through Central Alabama on Monday and left Alabama Power customers without electricity by the tens of thousands, with 77,224 people affected statewide shortly after 3 p.m. The utility reported 1,344 active outages as crews moved across the region answering calls about downed trees, blocked roads and live power lines.
The outage spread across clusters in the Birmingham metro area and surrounding communities, making the alabama power outage a fast-moving problem for drivers and emergency crews at the same time. In Homewood, responders were working at Oxmoor Road at Vulcan Road, the 200 block of Acton Avenue, Lakeshore Drive at Columbiana Road, 405 Woodland Drive and 28 Crest Drive, while Hueytown police said the 300 block of Virginia Drive was completely blocked by a fallen tree.
Damage reports piled up across Central Alabama as the storm line pushed on. Hoover said a home on Whispering Pines Circle was severely damaged after being struck by lightning. Palmerdale Fire District crews reported trees blocking Marsh Mountain Road and warned that more trees and limbs could fall without warning as the storms continued. Concord firefighters said trees were down near Taylor's Ferry Road and Brandon Road, and officials in Oak Grove reported several trees down.
Elsewhere, a tree fell on a home on Howard Drive in Talladega, and the Talladega EMA said there were no injuries. The Chilton County Sheriff's Office also said it had not received any reports of injuries. In St. Clair County, EMA officials said trees were down all over the county and one tree hit a vehicle in the 1900 block of South Hill Crest in Odenville. Bessemer reported trees falling on homes on Avenue B and Hall Avenue, while Anniston said severe weather left roads impassable in some areas, including Henry Road, Sunset, Canyon Drive and Robertson Road.
Some of the heaviest disruption was tied to hazards that were still active as cleanup began. Fultondale Fire and Rescue reported multiple trees down and roads blocked on KC Dement near Sayers Road, Stouts Rd near KC Dement and the 5800 block of 34th St N, adding that some lines were still live. Calera police said fire crews responded to multiple reports of trees and power lines down across the city, and the Etowah County Sheriff's Office deployed its Critical Response Team to the Gallant area to help the Ivalee and Gallant Volunteer Fire Departments with multiple trees down.
That same county said Brasher and Old Gallant road would stay closed until Tuesday, June 2, and Randall and Old Gallant Road would also remain closed until then. Alabama Power had not given a restoration timeline by late Monday, and with scattered outages, live wires and roads still cut off in several communities, the first task for crews was not just getting the lights back on but clearing a safe path to do it.
