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A Check on Sally at 8:20 pm; Impacts to Southwest Alabama & the Alabama Gulf Coast

| September 14, 2020 @ 8:45 pm

As of 8:20 pm, we can see the outer main rain bands are affecting the Gulf Coast all of the way from roughly around Pensacola to as far east as Apalachicola and St. Teresa, Florida. The center is approximately 95 miles due south of Orange Beach on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

We saw earlier reports of flooding already occurring on portions of Dauphin Island from the already increasing roughness in the surf and the rise in the storm surge. Vehicles had become stranded due to sand being washed in and deposited in the parking area of the vacation homes and other localities.

A Storm Surge Warning is up for all of the Alabama Gulf Coast including Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay. Storm surge totals of up to 4-7 feet can be expected on Dauphin Island and the entire Alabama Gulf Coast. Surge totals for Mobile Bay could reach as high as 6-9 feet.

A Hurricane Warning is also in effect for all of the Alabama Gulf Coast including Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay.

Sally is forecast to make landfall as a strong category 2 hurricane on the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Dangerous and potentially historic flooding is becoming increasingly likely, especially for portions of southwest Alabama, along with southeastern Mississippi and the coastal parts of the western Florida panhandle. That will be especially magnified due to the expected decrease in forward motion ad it approaches the coast leading to a prolonged event in terms of rainfall, wind, and storm surge.

Totals of 15-20 inches with the potential localized heavier amounts up to 25 inches will be possible across the Alabama Gulf Coast and up into the inland parts of extreme southwestern Alabama. Further inland, 6-10 inches will be possible with localized heavier amounts of 10-20 inches possible. The heaviest rainfall throughout the event look to take place starting on Tuesday morning and continuing until late Wednesday.

Of course, with the very rough seas and high winds, dangerous and life-threatening rip currents will be likely from now through at least Thursday morning before the rip currents start to fall back into a moderate risk.

The next advisory update from the NHC will be out at 10:00 pm tonight.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Severe Weather, Tropical

About the Author ()

Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.

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