From the Archives: 1979 Trucker Strike
Highway 58 firefighter dies in motorcycle crash on Birchwood Pike
Chattanooga now has a Swiftwater Rescue Team
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Chattanooga Fire Department announced on Friday it has a new Swiftwater Rescue Team.
The team is made up of 26 firefighters who learned new skills to make rescues in certain water scenarios.
These firefighters have new gear and five new boats.
CFD said they recently spent several days training on the Hiwassee River.
They learned several skills, such as flipping a capsized boat and swimming in a swift current.
The fire department said it plans to accredit the team through the State of Tennessee. It is currently deployable with the Tri-State Mutual Aid Association.
Their training will continue, but the firefighters are “prepared to respond to incidents in Chattanooga and beyond,” the fire department said.
Police say 2 men shot on Arlington Avenue have died
Chattanooga Police arrest suspect in Tunnel Boulevard shooting
Chattanooga celebrates city’s 75th Armed Forces Day
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Armed Forces Day celebration in Chattanooga took place on Friday, May 3, 2024. This is the 75th anniversary of Chattanooga’s Armed Forces Day.
Historically, the event highlights one specific branch of the military each year. However, the parade honored all branches of the U.S. military this year for its 75th anniversary.
Chattanooga’s Armed Force Day Parade is the longest, uninterrupted Armed Forces Day celebration in the United States.
The parade began at 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of MLK Boulevard and Market Street. It concluded at Chestnut Street. Retired U.S. Navy Captain Mickey McCamish said this is the same route taken to honor Medal of Honor recipient Captain Larry Taylor in September.
Following the parade, the Armed Forces Day luncheon began at noon at the Chattanooga Convention Center. This year, Chattanooga-native and Army Four-Star General, Burwell B. Bell was the parade marshal and keynote speaker at the luncheon.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly was scheduled to deliver remarks at the luncheon as well.
“We live in divisive times, but we’ve got to take every opportunity we can to create and strengthen the bonds of community,” said Mayor Kelly. “And this is something that that every American can and should rally around, right. So, this is one of those points in Chattanooga where we can all come together as a community and celebrate what makes the city great, when that makes the state and country right.”
Prior to these events, local government leaders met at the Read House to hold a press conference about Chattanoga’s Armed Forces Day events. Mayor Kelly, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Army Vice Chief of Staff General James Mingus, and General Burwell Bell all spoke at the presser.
Nationally, Armed Forces Day is recognized on the third Saturday of May.
Police officer injured, suspect killed in Skyline, AL domestic call
SKYLINE , Alabama (WDEF) – A suspect was killed and a police officer wounded in a shootout last evening in Jackson County, Alabama.
The Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to a home on a domestic call on County Road 143 near Skyline around 5 PM.
Sheriff Ricky Harnen says that when a Skyline officer arrived, someone began firing at him.
The officer was grazed by the gunfire and has been release from the hospital.
The Sheriff says the Skyline officer returned fire, killing the gunman.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation will handle the case.
... Continue ReadingSilverdale Academy breaks ground on new building
Chattanooga, Tenn. (WDEF) — Silverdale academy is getting some big changes in the near future. Today the school held a groundbreaking for their new building, and it will be named the commons.
The commons will have state of the art new equipment for students such as a new lab for students to work on computer engineering and robotics.
Cindy Ford who is the director of special programs is excited about the new space.
“Just being able to access and spread out on our campus more, and to be able to have more classes to be offered its really going to impact the students here.” said Cindy Ford
The students and faculty are very excited to see these new additions.
... Continue Reading
Sheriff: Man shot in knee after assaulting son, neighbor
Weather Update: Friday – May 3, 2024
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Overnight: Partly cloudy. Mild. Lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S around 5 mph.
Friday: Partly sunny. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Not as warm. Highs: lower 80’s. Winds: S 10-15 mph.
Overnight: Cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mild. Lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S 5-10 mph.
Saturday: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; highs low 80’s. Winds: SW @ 5-10 MPH.
Overnight: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; lows in the low 60’s. Winds: SW @ 5 MPH, calm late.
Sunday: Partly cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild with highs in the low/mid 80’s. Winds: S @ 5-10 MPH.
Overnight: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S @ 5 MPH.
Monday: Cloud/Sun Mix. Warm. Highs: mid 80’s. Winds: S @ 5-10 MPH.
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The News 12 viewing area finally picked up some relatively decent rainfall early Tuesday morning, with amounts ranging from around a quarter of an inch in the Tennessee Valley, to around 1 to 2 inches on the Cumberland Plateau and across the southern Appalachian mountains. Now that the rain is over, the story shifts to the expected early May mini-heatwave. Computer model guidance indicates that both high and low temperatures will be a good five to ten degrees above normal throughout much of the next several days, as the dominant flow remains southerly, with a brief period of weak northerly, low level flow Wednesday through the morning hours on Thursday. We will have another opportunity for rain at the end of the week. Showers and thunderstorms are modeled to develop over the area Friday and Saturday, ahead of a slow moving, frontal system with help from a couple upper level waves of low pressure. The frontal boundary will push south to near the Coastal Plain in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia on Sunday, giving us a brief break in the more widespread pattern of showers and thunderstorms. However, the front will return north with the approach of another upper level trough Sunday night into Monday. The chance for showers and thunderstorms will increase again during this period early next week, as the upper feature shifts east. Following the passage of this third lifting mechanism, we may be able to enjoy a break in the action on Tuesday, as we await yet another upper wave and surface frontal system during the middle of next week. I should emphasize that our weekend period will not be a washout. These weather systems will be progressive, so each feature will bring a few showers and thunderstorms to the area for a period of two or three hours and then, continue east toward the Eastern Seaboard. This period looks similar to what we typically see during the Summer months, when thunderstorms develop in scattered fashion, with slightly greater coverage and intensity during the peak heating of the afternoon, followed by dissipation during the mid to late evening hours, when the surface begins to cool.
Stay tuned to our forecasts throughout the rest of the week, to keep track of any strength or timing changes to our weekend thunderstorm development. We are still not in any significant trouble in terms of annual precipitation. Our annual deficit is around two and a quarter inches after our early week rainfall, but evaporation rates continue to rise as we move further into the warm season. Hopefully we will pick some more rainfall during the “unsettled weekend period” which features a stalled frontal boundary near the WDEF viewing area.
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National Drought Summary for April 25, 2024
Summary
Moderate to heavy rain amounts fell across parts of the Southeast and Northeast this week, leading to localized improvements to ongoing drought and abnormal dryness in the Southeast, and mostly unchanged conditions in the Northeast, aside from western New York, which missed out on the heavier precipitation and saw minor degradations.
The central third of the contiguous U.S. saw a mix of improvements and degradations, based on where heavier precipitation did or did not fall and where dry and windy conditions continued. Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the Michigan Lower Peninsula, southern Missouri and southeast Kansas saw improving conditions after heavier rains fell there. Meanwhile, moderate drought expanded in northwest Missouri and portions of west-central Wisconsin, Minnesota, northwest Iowa, the far southern Michigan Upper Peninsula and far northeast Wisconsin. Much of Texas remained the same, with a few degradations in the southeast corner and several degradations in central and southern Texas where long-term drought conditions are still causing impacts. Recent dryness and warm and windy weather in northwest Oklahoma and the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles led to abnormal dryness developing there.
Short-term dryness and high evaporative demand led to large areas of degrading conditions in northeast Wyoming, while west-central Wyoming, north-central Colorado, northeast Utah, western Montana, and the northern Idaho Panhandle all saw areas of improvement due to lower evaporative demand and improving snowpack recently. In Hawaii, an active trade wind pattern continued, leading to some improvements on the windward (northeast) slopes of the Big Island and Kauai, while a small area of moderate drought developed on the leeward (southwest) portion of Kauai. In Puerto Rico, a few improvements were made where recent rainfall has improved streamflows and crop stress, and lessened rainfall deficits and raised reservoir levels.
No changes were made to the Drought Monitor this week in Alaska.
– NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Got #weatherpix to share for our @WestShoreHome #WeatherWindow #PictureOfTheDay? E-mail them to [email protected].
| ||||
Make sure you & your family stay in touch with us. Remember the Storm Team 12 app can always bring you the latest weather alerts for your location as well as Titan Radar. Download it for free from your app store – just search “WDEF Weather”.
The best time to prepare for severe weather is when nothing weather-wise is going on. Learn more about programming your weather alert radio with WDEF-TV News 12.
Who can participate?
This is a community project. Everyone can help, young, old, and in-between. The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives.
What will our volunteer observers be doing?
Each time a rain, hail or snow storm crosses your area, volunteers take measurements of precipitation from as many locations as possible (see equipment). These precipitation reports are then recorded on our Web site www.cocorahs.org. The data are then displayed and organized for many of our end users to analyze and apply to daily situations ranging from water resource analysis and severe storm warnings to neighbors comparing how much rain fell in their backyards.
Who uses CoCoRaHS?
CoCoRaHS is used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. The National Weather Service, other meteorologists, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, water conservation, storm water), insurance adjusters, USDA, engineers, mosquito control, ranchers and farmers, outdoor & recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community are just some examples of those who visit our Web site and use our data.
https://cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=application
IF YOU’D LIKE A WDEF NEWS 12 METEOROLOGIST TO VISIT WITH YOUR SCHOOL, PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW.
Weather Update: Thursday – May 2, 2024
| ||||
Overnight: Partly cloudy. Mild. Lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S around 5 mph.
Friday: Partly sunny. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Not as warm. Highs: lower 80’s. Winds: S 10-15 mph.
Overnight: Cloudy. Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mild. Lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S 5-10 mph.
Saturday: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; highs low 80’s. Winds: SW @ 5-10 MPH.
Overnight: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; lows in the low 60’s. Winds: SW @ 5 MPH, calm late.
Sunday: Partly cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild with highs in the low/mid 80’s. Winds: S @ 5-10 MPH.
Overnight: Cloudy, showers, thunderstorms. Mild; lows: mid 60’s. Winds: S @ 5 MPH.
Monday: Cloud/Sun Mix. Warm. Highs: mid 80’s. Winds: S @ 5-10 MPH.
| ||||
The News 12 viewing area finally picked up some relatively decent rainfall early Tuesday morning, with amounts ranging from around a quarter of an inch in the Tennessee Valley, to around 1 to 2 inches on the Cumberland Plateau and across the southern Appalachian mountains. Now that the rain is over, the story shifts to the expected early May mini-heatwave. Computer model guidance indicates that both high and low temperatures will be a good five to ten degrees above normal throughout much of the next several days, as the dominant flow remains southerly, with a brief period of weak northerly, low level flow Wednesday through the morning hours on Thursday. We will have another opportunity for rain at the end of the week. Showers and thunderstorms are modeled to develop over the area Friday and Saturday, ahead of a slow moving, frontal system with help from a couple upper level waves of low pressure. The frontal boundary will push south to near the Coastal Plain in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia on Sunday, giving us a brief break in the more widespread pattern of showers and thunderstorms. However, the front will return north with the approach of another upper level trough Sunday night into Monday. The chance for showers and thunderstorms will increase again during this period early next week, as the upper feature shifts east. Following the passage of this third lifting mechanism, we may be able to enjoy a break in the action on Tuesday, as we await yet another upper wave and surface frontal system during the middle of next week. I should emphasize that our weekend period will not be a washout. These weather systems will be progressive, so each feature will bring a few showers and thunderstorms to the area for a period of two or three hours and then, continue east toward the Eastern Seaboard. This period looks similar to what we typically see during the Summer months, when thunderstorms develop in scattered fashion, with slightly greater coverage and intensity during the peak heating of the afternoon, followed by dissipation during the mid to late evening hours, when the surface begins to cool.
Stay tuned to our forecasts throughout the rest of the week, to keep track of any strength or timing changes to our weekend thunderstorm development. We are still not in any significant trouble in terms of annual precipitation. Our annual deficit is around two and a quarter inches after our early week rainfall, but evaporation rates continue to rise as we move further into the warm season. Hopefully we will pick some more rainfall during the “unsettled weekend period” which features a stalled frontal boundary near the WDEF viewing area.
| ||||
National Drought Summary for April 25, 2024
Summary
Moderate to heavy rain amounts fell across parts of the Southeast and Northeast this week, leading to localized improvements to ongoing drought and abnormal dryness in the Southeast, and mostly unchanged conditions in the Northeast, aside from western New York, which missed out on the heavier precipitation and saw minor degradations.
The central third of the contiguous U.S. saw a mix of improvements and degradations, based on where heavier precipitation did or did not fall and where dry and windy conditions continued. Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the Michigan Lower Peninsula, southern Missouri and southeast Kansas saw improving conditions after heavier rains fell there. Meanwhile, moderate drought expanded in northwest Missouri and portions of west-central Wisconsin, Minnesota, northwest Iowa, the far southern Michigan Upper Peninsula and far northeast Wisconsin. Much of Texas remained the same, with a few degradations in the southeast corner and several degradations in central and southern Texas where long-term drought conditions are still causing impacts. Recent dryness and warm and windy weather in northwest Oklahoma and the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles led to abnormal dryness developing there.
Short-term dryness and high evaporative demand led to large areas of degrading conditions in northeast Wyoming, while west-central Wyoming, north-central Colorado, northeast Utah, western Montana, and the northern Idaho Panhandle all saw areas of improvement due to lower evaporative demand and improving snowpack recently. In Hawaii, an active trade wind pattern continued, leading to some improvements on the windward (northeast) slopes of the Big Island and Kauai, while a small area of moderate drought developed on the leeward (southwest) portion of Kauai. In Puerto Rico, a few improvements were made where recent rainfall has improved streamflows and crop stress, and lessened rainfall deficits and raised reservoir levels.
No changes were made to the Drought Monitor this week in Alaska.
– NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Got #weatherpix to share for our @WestShoreHome #WeatherWindow #PictureOfTheDay? E-mail them to [email protected].
| ||||
Make sure you & your family stay in touch with us. Remember the Storm Team 12 app can always bring you the latest weather alerts for your location as well as Titan Radar. Download it for free from your app store – just search “WDEF Weather”.
The best time to prepare for severe weather is when nothing weather-wise is going on. Learn more about programming your weather alert radio with WDEF-TV News 12.
Who can participate?
This is a community project. Everyone can help, young, old, and in-between. The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives.
What will our volunteer observers be doing?
Each time a rain, hail or snow storm crosses your area, volunteers take measurements of precipitation from as many locations as possible (see equipment). These precipitation reports are then recorded on our Web site www.cocorahs.org. The data are then displayed and organized for many of our end users to analyze and apply to daily situations ranging from water resource analysis and severe storm warnings to neighbors comparing how much rain fell in their backyards.
Who uses CoCoRaHS?
CoCoRaHS is used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. The National Weather Service, other meteorologists, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, water conservation, storm water), insurance adjusters, USDA, engineers, mosquito control, ranchers and farmers, outdoor & recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community are just some examples of those who visit our Web site and use our data.
https://cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=application
IF YOU’D LIKE A WDEF NEWS 12 METEOROLOGIST TO VISIT WITH YOUR SCHOOL, PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW.
CSAS receives grant to increase energy efficiency, plans to stay downtown
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A historic school in downtown Chattanooga will soon be getting needed upgrades.
The school building that houses the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS) has been in use since 1922, previously as Chattanooga and Riverside High Schools.
As Hamilton County Schools begin to take action on their school facilities plan, some have wondered what this means for this campus.
However, a new grant signals the school’s commitment to staying right here.
The energy was palpable inside of CSAS Thursday morning as the school received a $410,000 grant from the TVA EnergyRight School Uplift Program.
A group of senior students led the grant application process, which included Sullivan Smith, Karen Lin, Aarav Patel, Hetvi Patel, and Rithvik Siddenki.
They worked with EPB Energy Pros to measure energy efficiency and air quality on a daily basis across the school.
Smith reacted to getting the grant by saying, “We’ve been working on it all year really and I mean I knew we were finalists but to come in and get the award? That’s great.”
They volunteered to apply for the grant, which in partnership with EPB, helps schools across Tennessee become more energy efficient with upgrades to school infrastructure such as lights and air conditioning.
Jennifer Mitchell, former E-Lab Teacher at CSAS, now the Current East Ridge High School Assistant Principal, said, “They sat there and wrote the grant application. They would send it to me and my co-chair, Ms. Davis, and we looked over everything, and they submitted a lot of the paperwork and did a lot of the runaround.”
Due to the age of the school, CSAS currently does not have a central air or heating unit outside of their auditorium and gym.
Most classrooms have outside aging air units that’s attached to the windows adjacent to their rooms.
With the improvements, all air units will be replaced and connected to a dedicated outdoor supply.
All fluorescent lighting will be replaced with LED lighting as well.
Smith said, “A lot of students I’m sure like if you just ask them, they could name one or two teachers whose classrooms are too hot or too cold, and that’s just something that’s been part of the experience here I guess. But with like centralized A.C. or even like just improved mini splits or whatever other improvements we can get, that’s going to make the comfort much more even and well rounded around the school.”
As new schools get built across the county, some have asked if CSAS should join them.
However, this assures that they will stay downtown for the foreseeable future.
Mitchell said, “Everybody wants it. UTC wants it, Erlanger wants it, but it’s a great location to be it because our kids can walk to 90 percent of their field trips. So we can go to the Challenger Center, walk to the Hunter Museum, walk downtown, walk to the Creative Discovery Museum, or wherever they need to go, and that’s valuable within itself.”
The school plans to install the new equipment by the beginning of next school year.
They hope it saves up to 10 percent in annual energy costs.
Driving Our Economy Forward: Healthcare professionals prepare Catoosa Career Academy students
Tennessee American Water asks for rate increase
At least 2 men shot on Arlington Avenue, police say
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – At least two people were shot on Arlington Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
Chattanooga police officers arrived at the scene around 5:30 p.m. and found two men with life-threatening injuries.
First responders then began life-saving measures on the two men and then took them to a hospital.
Police said the suspect(s) fled the scene before their arrival.
A third person also arrived at a local hospital in their own personal vehicle later that day. He also had a gunshot wound, but his injuries were not life-threatening. Officers are trying to determine if that person was shot on Arlington Avenue as well.
Police said their investigation is ongoing. The CPD Homicide Unit is investigating as well.
Anyone with information on this incident should contact Chattanooga Police at 423-698-2525.
Commissioner says comptroller investigated satellite office
Commissioner says Comptroller investigated satellite office
Increase reported in 2023 Chattanooga overdose deaths
CHATTTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Drug Recovery Court presented updated statistics on Wednesday showing the extent of the local drug crisis.
During a presentation, the court said in 2023, there were 162 overdose deaths in Chattanooga.
To put into perspective, if Chattanooga were a state, it would have the second highest per capita death rate per 100,000 residents in the country, behind West Virginia.
Tennessee currently holds that second spot.
The drug recovery court works with those who were charged with crimes and have a substance use disorder in Hamilton County.
Despite the overall trend, the court said it is encouraged with a 90% graduation rate of those who participate in their program.
“We increased our census dramatically in 2023. We were at one point up to 90 participants in the program. When I first started, we had a little under 30, so that’s a huge increase. We have had five drug free babies,” Hamilton County Drug Recovery Court Director Shannon Morgan said.
Hamilton County Judges Alex McVeagh and Amanda Dunn currently preside over this program on a weekly basis in their courtrooms.
... Continue ReadingHixson High School starts new EMS program
Vacation rental committee to be held next week
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – A resolution about vacation rentals will be discussed next week at Hamilton County Commission.
It will be discussed in a committee session after next week’s regular meeting on Wednesday, May 8.
This resolution, proposed by Commissioner Gene-O Shipley, would ban vacation rentals in neighborhoods across the county, if passed.
It has faced significant opposition from other commissioners and the public.
... Continue Reading
