'Historic' Flooding Expected to Hit Alabama Coast as Hurricane Sally Makes Approach

Hurricane Sally brought heavy rain and choppy seas to the Alabama shore on September 15, as the National Weather Service warned of “historic, life-threatening flash flooding along portions of the northern Gulf coast.”

According to reports, the Category 1 storm was approaching the Alabama coast “at a crawl,” and as of 4 pm CDT Tuesday, the hurricane was located about 85 miles south of Mobile and headed north at 2 mph.

Footage taken from Orange Beach, Alabama, shows docks submerged as the storm approached.

The National Weather Service reported Hurricane Sally would move slowly toward the Gulf Coast, resulting in “prolonged impacts from damaging winds, storm surge, flooding rains, and isolated tornados.”

In Florida, Meteorologist Ray Hawthorne told WMFE on September 15 he was “expecting 10 to 20 inches of rain in a widespread area from Destin and Fort Walton west to Pensacola,” with a possibility of “isolated amounts of up to 30 inches.” Credit: Amy Lynn Cuny via Storyful