Hello Friday, nice to see you…

Weather: Clearing and cooler. The strong storms have moved out of Alabama, leaving us with temperatures more like normal for this time of year. We’ll have highs today around 60, with lows tonight dipping to the middle 30s. Saturday will be sunny and a bit warmer with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the middle 40s. Much the same on Sunday, except there’s a chance of scattered showers.

Powerless. Last night’s strong storms left thousands without electricity. As of 7 a.m. this morning, Alabama Power spokesman Ike Pigott says there are 15,000 customers in metro Birmingham without power, but that’s down from 32,000 at the peak – about six times the number of outages from the recent snowstorm. Statewide, about 32,000 are still without power.

Annexation “isn’t feasible.” As reported at njeffersonnews.com Thursday morning, an effort by Gardendale officials to work out a compromise that would possibly extend the new city school district boundaries into unincorporated Mount Olive has come up empty, and those officials have determined that it isn’t financially feasible for Gardendale to annex the large portion of Mount Olive whose schoolchildren are zoned to attend Bragg Middle and Gardendale High schools. For now, that leaves two options for those students to attend the new system: wait and hope that the yet-to-be-selected Gardendale Board of Education can work out a grandfather clause in its separation agreement with Jefferson County Schools; or homeowners can apply to annex in the traditional way, property by property, starting with parcels that are contiguous with the Gardendale city limits.

Sports: Put up the basketballs. The last local team fell by the wayside Thursday afternoon, as Locust Fork’s girls lost to Priceville 59-49 in the semifinals of the AHSAA Northwest Regional Tournament at Hanceville. The Hornets were not able to overcome a run early in the second quarter that put the Bulldogs ahead for good. The Hornets finish with a 19-10 record as they graduate six seniors… Baseball: Double trouble. John Michael Matthews hammered three doubles, drove in four runs and scored four as Gardendale blasted Hayden 17-5 on Thursday. Colten Jay was 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Middle reliever Jason Hallmark got the win, striking out six in three innings, while Chris Whitt took the loss for the Cats. Drew Turner was 2-for-4 at the plate for Hayden, which hosts Locust Fork next Tuesday while the Rockets go to Pleasant Grove for a doubleheader today… Bass fishing: And away they go. The biggest tournament in the world got under way this morning, as more than 50 anglers left the dock at Lake Guntersville for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Among the competitors: Warrior’s Gerald Swindle and former Gardendale resident Randall Tharp, who won the competing Forrest Wood Cup on the FLW Tour last year. They’ll weigh in at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center, with the big day on Sunday; admission is free.