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Hurricane Sally could bring 'historic' flash flooding, up to 30 inches of rain
Hurricane Sally dumped heavy rainfall over the Gulf Coast before the storm was expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Mississippi and Alabama.
Local
Slow-moving Hurricane Sally was already dumping heavy rainfall over parts of the Gulf Coast Tuesday morning, hours before the storm was expected to bring an even greater deluge when it makes landfall as a Category 1 hurricane or strong tropical storm near the Mississippi and Alabama border.
The National Hurricane Center warned of "extreme life-threatening" and "historic" flash flooding along the northern Gulf Coast after Sally makes landfall early Wednesday morning. Power outages were expected before daybreak.
The storm on Tuesday afternoon was 105 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, whipping up maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
The storm was only moving at 2 mph and wasn't expected to speed up much before making landfall with lingering rainfall that could last up to two days. Some areas from the western Florida Panhandle to far southeastern Mississippi could see up to 30 inches, according to the NHC. The center predicts water heights of 6 to 9 feet from Ocean Springs, Mississippi to Dauphin Island, Alabama, if peak surge coincides with high tide.