Mobile area braces for record rainfall, life-threatening flooding from Hurricane Sally
Residents along the Gulf of Mexico from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Navarre, Florida, watched Hurricane Sally from the time the storm formed as a tropical depression off southern Florida last week and prayed she would not land on them
At one time, New Orleans was under threat of a hurricane landfall after Sally entered the Gulf with a dreaded northward turn anticipated. Then it was Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
By Tuesday evening in Bay St. Louis, residents had gathered in relief at a local bar to celebrate escaping the worst from Sally. A headline from New Orleans read: “As Alabama braces for Sally, New Orleans breathes sigh of relief.”
Sally took her time, meandering along the Gulf of Mexico until Tuesday, when that northward turn finally came. Tuesday night, the Category 1 hurricane aimed for Mobile Bay.
Flooding, power outages hit Alabama coast
Flooding and power outages have already started in Mobile and roadways were flooding Tuesday evening in Gulf Shores as well.
The doors to the Bankhead Tunnel, the bustling gateway between Mobile and Florida, were closed Tuesday morning.
In Bayou La Batre, the Associated Press reported, two large casino boats broke loose from a dock where they had been undergoing construction.
Residents braced for record rainfall of 10-30 inches from slow-moving Sally.
“I am most concerned about, No. 1, the water, right? The life-threatening flash-flooding, also the surge paired with that,” Ginger Zee of ABC News said in a live broadcast from the shores of a choppy Mobile Bay.
Zee talked about the possible 10-30 inches of rain the slow-moving storm could drop, the wind gusts already at 55 mph Tuesday afternoon, waves to the south of Gulf Shores and Pensacola that had already reached 30 feet.
“So that is going to lap at those beaches and really do some damage,” Zee said.
Hurricane Sally gaining strength
WKRG-TV in Mobile let viewers know Tuesday night: “Sally is now a little stronger. It looks like despite encountering dry air and a some wind shear, Sally is trying to form a more defined eye which indicates strengthening. Max winds are now at 85 mph and additional strengthening is possible before landfall.”
A hurricane force gust of 78 mph had been recorded well before sunset at Dauphin Island, WKRG reported.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who had been preparing for a landfall in his state, tweeted a word of solidarity to Alabama residents. Gov. Kay Ivey responded with gratitude.
“Landfall near Mobile Bay is the most likely scenario based on the current forecast,” FOX10 news in Mobile reported. “We will remain on the very wet and windy side of Sally through the day Wednesday.”
Lest residents forget that Sally is still taking her time to target the area for final landfall, the station added:
“Changes in the forecast track are possible due to a weak steering flow.”
