The 2020 hurricane season is at its peak and with it, there is a record number of storms in the Atlantic basin. Near home, the previously slow-moving Hurricane Sally is now bashing the southern Gulf States as it made landfall on Wednesday morning after picking up some speed.
What We Know:
- As of midday Wednesday, there are hundreds of reports of water rescues, loss of power, and downed trees. The systems slow moment has consequently drenched the affected areas leaving serious, possibly historic, flooding across the Florida panhandle.
Just getting out in Orange Beach, Alabama where we rode out #HurricaneSally — going to start tweeting damage. Internet spotty so bear with me. pic.twitter.com/NSEZQYJWef
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) September 16, 2020
- According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Sally is expected to keep its grip on these regions until it finally moves away by Thursday, leaving massive amounts of rain that will lead to “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding.
- Sally’s eye was reported to have made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama early Wednesday morning as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph. The slow movement allowed it to re-intensify just hours before coming onshore.
- Despite its track, some of the hardest-hit areas will be east of the storm given where the actual rain is located. The eye brushed about 30 miles west-northwest of Pensacola, Florida, one of the hardest-hit areas, with storm surge and winds of up to 70 mph.
#Sally has made landfall near Gulf Shores Alabama at 445 AM CDT as a category 2 hurricane. Maximum sustained winds were 105 mph with a minimum central pressure of 965 mb. More: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/zdyilBhdic
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 16, 2020
- Pensacola Beach has reported extensive damage throughout the city with debris flying off buildings and power going out. PowerOutage.us shows that nearly 500,000 customers in Alabama and Florida are without service. Another major infrastructure blow was a section of Pensacola’s Three-Mile Bridge, which connects to the city of Gulf Breeze, has been destroyed.
- After its slow entrance into the continental US, Sally is expected to continue moving north-northeast at a higher 5 mph, but still not fast enough to avoid flooding. Forecasters stated that should the storm continue its current speed, it could dump nearly three feet of rain in some places and see storm surge of up to seven feet. Severe weather from its remnants threatens Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
- “On the forecast track, the center of Sally will move across the extreme western Florida panhandle and southeastern Alabama through early Thursday, move over central Georgia on Thursday, and move over South Carolina Thursday night,” says the NHC.
Like other storms, Sally will continue to weaken as it moves inland around the late Wednesday to early Thursday timeframe. From there, the tropical depression will affect the rest of the southeast in the form of prolonged rain, which still has the possibility to produce flash flooding.
