Governor Robert Bentley has issued a statewide State of Emergency in advance of severe winter weather expected to hit early Tuesday (February 11th).

The State of Emergency will actually begin at 6:00am.

Bentley says Alabama is taking no chances as that storm front approaches, and is urging schools in areas predicted to have snow and ice accumulations – to close.

He is also urging people to be cautious and to avoid all unnecessary travel.

The governor says the state’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated to handle any and all response requests associated with the storm and he reports that a wrecker unit of the Alabama National Guard is on standby with crews positioned across north Alabama.

(ABC/3340/www.abc3340.com)