Hurricane Sally live updates: Gulf Coast, Alabama await landfall - Montgomery Advertiser
Hurricane Sally made landfall as a category 2 hurricane in Gulf Shores Wednesday morning, the first to do so in Alabama since Ivan in 2004.
Turning more east as it made its way, the storm is predicted to bring life-threatening storm surge to the coastal region and extensive flooding throughout south and central Alabama.
Alabama's USA Today Network and its partners are gathering information across the Gulf Coast. Follow here for updates as Hurricane Sally makes landfall and tracks across the state.
11:25 a.m.: Gov. Ivey reminds Alabamians to stay off the roads
Gov. Kay Ivey urged Alabamians impacted by Sally to heed weather expert and local officials.
“Likewise, I am remaining in constant communication with local officials along our coastal areas, and I have assured them – as well as pledge to all Alabamians – that we will provide every resource possible from the state level in order to help folks recover in the days and weeks ahead," Ivey said. "The Alabama National Guard is standing by to assist, as is the Alabama Department of Transportation, ALEA and every other state partner. We are ready to respond however and wherever needed."
Ivey said the slow-moving nature of Sally could make it more difficult for repair crews to restore power and water services.
“Please, please refrain from getting on our roads to go check on storm damage unless you absolutely have to; even then, I urge everyone to use all caution. The best thing is for people to remain home if at all possible," she said. "As our first responders are working diligently around the clock, please remember to only call 911 for a life-threatening emergency. At this time, we have to utilize our first responders for the most critical needs. Stay safe, and stay smart. We will be with you the whole way, Alabama!”
11:10 a.m.: Power outages roll across southern Alabama, Florida panhandle
Wide spread power outages are reported in Coffee and Covington counties, according to the Covington Electric Cooperative. Crews are out making repairs, but work may be suspended if weather conditions worsen.
Baldwin County is now reporting up to 97% outages while neighboring Escambia County in Florida is reporting about 83% of customers without power and Mobile with 63%.
Mike Jordan, a spokesman with Alabama Power said statewide there's 160,000 customers without service the vast majority of whom are in the Mobile area.
North of the coastal counties, Escambia County, Alabama, reports 61% of people without power, Washington county with 36% out and Monroe with 37%.
Outages are also crawling more inland. Conecuh is reporting 27% of customers without power, in Butler 15% of customers are without power and in Choctaw county about 12% are without power. Jordan said there are also about 900 customers in central Alabama, mostly in Wilcox County.
10:45 a.m.: Flood warning issued for central Alabama rivers
The Tallapoosa River at the Tallapoosa Water plant affecting Montgomery and Elmore counties was at 8.5 feet, Wednesday morning. Flood stage is 25 feet. The river is expected to rise above flood stage Thursday morning and crest Friday morning.
The Alabama River at Montgomery affecting Autauga, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes and Montgomery counties. Wednesday morning the level was 20.8 feet with flood stage at 35 feet. The river is expected to rise above flood stage Friday afternoon and go below flood stage Friday night.
The Alabama River at Selma affecting Dallas County. Wednesday morning the level was 18.8 feet with flood stage at 45 feet. The river is expected to rise above flood stage Saturday night and fall below flood stage Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Pea River in Elba. Flood stage is 30 feet and the river is expected to crest at 41.8 feet on Friday morning and fall below flood stage Saturday night.
10:32 a.m.: 'Dark, noisy' Gulf Shores official's account of riding out the hurricane
Sixteen years to the day after Hurricane Ivan caused “catastrophic” damage to Gulf Shores, Hurricane Sally appeared to have a smaller impact at first light on Wednesday. As of 9:30 a.m., Gulf Shores city officials had not received reports of fatalities or major medical conditions.
Sally’s landfall was officially clocked at 4:45 a.m. in Gulf Shores, but Grant Brown, the city’s public information officer, said conditions worsened around 3 a.m. and continued at their peak for nearly two hours.
“It was horrible,” Brown said. “I don't ever want to go through it again. It was dark, noisy, and the windows were shaking.”
The city is experiencing flooding in two major areas as the back end of the storm makes its way over Alabama’s coast. Brown said the recent Hurricane Laura heavily impacted the dune structure along the coast line.
“You can imagine with wet soil conditions and high winds, we have a significant tree problem. We have trees down over roadways, on people's homes. We have significant flooding conditions in two different areas,” Brown said. “Hurricane Laura reduced our primary dune structure. Now, with the storm surge plus all of the water, the backside of the storm is pushing water back up on our beaches again. The dune system in numerous locations has failed because of a lack of sand, so water is now pushed from the Gulf up into the roadways, under condominiums and beach houses. We've heard of minor structural damage to the buildings, as you would expect.”
More flooding is happening inland from the beach: The Intracoastal Waterway, which Brown said typically serves to help drain water away from the city’s residential neighborhoods, is at the highest levels he’s ever seen. The waterway is pushing water back into the neighborhoods, Brown said, the majority of which have lost power.
In hindsight, Brown said, officials think a mandatory evacuation order in low-lying areas might have been needed. City and state officials strongly recommended evacuation from flood-prone areas early this week, but Gulf Shores emergency officials received multiple calls for high-water rescues in the height of the storm on Wednesday morning, when conditions were too dangerous to respond.
Brown said authorities waited for the eye to pass over, giving a brief respite in weather conditions, before making “more than 10” high-water rescues, some of which included multiple people.
“We continually said this was going to be a historic flooding event, water will be in places that you've never seen before,” Brown said. “The good news it was rain water, so it wasn't as deadly of a storm surge. … When you do mandatory evacuations you get people’s attention a little quicker. Every time we have an event like this, we take notes during and after so we can go back and change best practices.”
The city is optimistic about making a full recovery, Brown said.
“We've been down this road, unfortunately, a bunch of times,” he said. “Our city has a very strong and healthy budget and reserve fund, so we will be able to survive and clean up and help our residents get back to their normal daily lives.”
A building was heavily damaged near Gulf Shores Parkway.
(Photo: Micheal Edmonds)10:15 a.m.: Portion of Three Mile Bridge into Gulf Breeze collapses
A newly opened, million dollar bridge from downtown Pensacola into Gulf Breeze has partially collapsed.
More: Three Mile Bridge suffers massive damage after Hurricane Sally topples crane, section missing
The Three Mile Bridge was struck Tuesday morning by a Shanska construction barge after it broke loose struck a fishing pier and lodged itself under the new bridge, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
The bridge was closed about 9 a.m. due in part to the barge and tropical storm force winds.
The collapse has temporarily trapped people in Gulf Breeze as the Garcon Bridge is closed due to flooding and rain.
According to the PNJ, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan is warning residents to stay away from the bridge. Photographs posted on social media indicate a crane fell on the bridge and knocked away a section of the road.
The Florida Department of Transportation said it has been unable to assess any possible damage to the bridge due to ongoing high winds. A spokesperson for the department said crews will be dispatched to assess the situation once conditions are safer.
9:50 a.m.: Montgomery man watches helplessly from afar
From his home in Montgomery, Joe Whatley was paying close attention as Hurricane Sally tore through Orange Beach, where he’s had a condo for 20 years. He’s been in touch with friends who rode the storm out Wednesday at his unit.
“To quote them, they said ‘It’s scary as hell,’” Whatley said. “One of them lives in a house about a half mile from my condo down there, and she had over five foot of water in her house.”
Whatley last saw his condo on Monday after a weekend trip there. He’s waiting on word from Orange Beach officials about when he’d be allowed to return.
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A boat and debris were washed into a building in Orange Beach, Ala., from Hurricane Sally on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020.
(Photo: Steve Malbis/Special to the Advertiser)Early Wednesday, the city of Orange Beach released a statement that a curfew was in effect until noon, and would likely be extended to all day as they assess the damage. Life threatening flooding and surge were expected to persist into the afternoon.
“The streets are covered up with pilings, piers, vehicles and whatnot,” Whatley said. “It’s not pretty.”
Photos friends of Whatley sent to him from the scene show much damage near the beach, with debris and a section of Gulf State Park Pier missing. Several boats were washed ashore.
“I have a friend over in Pensacola Beach. He lost a car, a pickup, boat, generator, golf cart, and has a tree through his roof,” Whatley said. “He had about six feet of water to come in. Actually more than that. The carpets were floating in his second floor.”
As bad as it looks, it could be worse. Whatley said Sally was milder than Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
“(Hurricane) Ivan hit us on the same day 16 years ago,” Whatley said. “It tore my place (in Orange Beach) to pieces then. It took a year to put it back together.”
Whatley has also gone through storms over the past 48 years with his place in Panama City.
“This whole earth and seas all belong to God,” Whatley said. “He just lets us share them as long as we need to. If we’ve got to rebuild, we just rebuild and go on.”
Steve Malbis, a friend of Whatley, rode out the storm in Orange Beach.
“It is devastation down here,” Malbis said. “I haven’t seen nothing like it. My house got totaled… It’s going to be a long recovery.”
Hurricane Sally washed away a pier and did more damage to an Orange Beach condo. Storyful
9:41 a.m.: Baldwin County water customers asked to conserve
Riviera Utilities, a water company that serves Baldwin County, has asked customers to conserve water.
According to their most recent information, there is "considerable damage" with roughly 41,000 meters without power. Crews will continue restoration efforts as long as conditions are safe, the company said.
9:40 a.m.: National Weather Service warns of tree damage in Sally's winds
The National Weather Service warned of falling trees in the wake of Sally's wrath.
According to the NWS, double-digit rainfall totals, like ones seen in coastal Alabama and the panhandle, coupled with wind gusts up to 80 mph stress trees in those areas. Falling trees are an increasing threat to life and property.
Ride out storms in an interior room away from windows and exterior walls on the first floor, the NWS said.
9:30 a.m.: New Gulf Shores business owner relieved business still standing
Micheal Edmonds, a Gulf Shores resident, lost power during the night. A recent transplant to the city, he went at first light to check on his business, a juice and smoothie bar which sustained some exterior damage but appeared undamaged inside the building.
Edmonds shared photos of extensive tree damage near his apartment complex, located about 5 miles inland from the beach, with some trees snapped into the parking lot. Others were fully uprooted, with at least one toppled onto a parked car. Most traffic lights in the area are down, Edmonds said.
Gulf Shores officials have not yet returned request for comment, but Baldwin County’s Emergency Management Agency said in a social media statement that they’ve received “lots of information” about damages and debris Wednesday morning.
“DO NOT attempt to travel along the roadways,” BCEMA posted on Twitter. “Dangerous conditions still exist.”
Heavy rains as Hurricane Sally made landfall on Alabama's Gulf Coast flooded this apartment complex parking lot in Gulf Shores about 5 miles inland. Montgomery Advertiser
9:20 a.m.: Reports of trees down as far north as Covington County
By 9 a.m., Covington County was reporting trees down and standing water over several roadways.
Emergency Management Agency Director Susan Harris said workers were trying to clear the roads but were being slowed by the storm. Winds were gusting over 40 miles per hour.
There were no reports of damage or injuries. “Right now, we’re just in standby mode,” Harris said.
She pleaded for residents to help by staying indoors during the storm.
“Just stay home,” she said. “Just stay off the roads and give road crews time to work.”
The Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency is urging residents to stay at home due to downed trees and flooded roads throughout the county. There are areas which have recorded 20 inches of rain by 8 a.m., with forecasts of some places likely getting 35 inches plus as a total for the storm.
The EMA id predicting dangerous flooding countywide. The Fish River is predicted to reach “major” flood stage later Wednesday. There has been “severe widespread damage,” from Hurricane Sally.
9:10 a.m.: Damage reports move north as Sally crawls inland
The center of Hurricane Sally is slowly moving near the Alabama and Florida state line causing heavy inundation and flash flooding situations, according to an update from the National Hurricane Service.
Sally's impact inland is quickly becoming apparent as the storm moves along.
Buck Bryant’s yard outside of Loxely is littered with shingles, likely a mix from his home and neighbors. Loxely is about 30 miles inland in northern Baldwin County. He rode the storm out with his wife and mother-in-law. A veteran of storms on the coast he decided stay for Sally instead of evacuating to his sister’s home in Selma.
A downed tree pins a car in Gulf Shores, Alabama, after Hurricane Sally made landfall on Sept. 16, 2020.
(Photo: Micheal Edmonds)At 8:30 a.m. he was wondering if he made the right decision. The winds have downed trees in the neighborhood and they have been without power since about 10 p.m. Tuesday.
“The problem with leaving is getting back home,” the 54-year-old said. “You get back home and you don’t have gas in the vehicle. But staying means a different kind of anxiety. You’re up all night listening to the house creaking and popping and wondering if the roof is going to go. From about midnight to 4 o’clock it was really rocking and rolling.
It was a rough night.”
The ridge cap of the roof is gone, and buckets were spaced around the home catching leaks.
“I’m just waiting for it to calm down enough to get outside and maybe put a tarp or sheeting on the worst parts of the roof,” he said.
8:10 a.m.: Damage reports flooding in across coastal communities
Social media reports are rolling in with reports of trees down, heavily flooded areas and excessive damage across coastal Alabama and Florida.
Mobile police have closed the I-10 Bayway until weather conditions improve.
7:45 a.m.: Rescues underway, heavy damage to homes, businesses in Baldwin County
Rescue crews are working to pull people from their homes damaged by Hurricane Sally and in the midst of massive flooding, Senior Forecaster David Eversole with the National Weather Service in Mobile said.
"There's two flash flood emergencies currently in affect for coastal Baldwin over to Fort Walton Beach," he said. "Those products are the result of water in homes and people having to be rescued. It's a rare product, a flash flood emergency. I’ve only seen about a dozen issued."
Eversole said he's gotten reports of damage to several condos in the Gulf Shores area, as well as damage to the Surf Shop and Pink Pony Pub.
"We know people are being rescued and we know there is severe property damage," he said.
Sally has also dumped a lot of rain on the panhandle. Northwest Pensacola reported 30 inches before 8 a.m., Eversole said.
"In Dac, Florida, they've reported 19.71 inches, and in Silver Hill, Alabama, there's been 11.26 inches," he said. "Those are really preliminary and we expect the totals to increase significantly."
Eversole said the initial rainfall reports are the result of Sally's slow speed but also its intensity. Making landfall as a category 2, the storm was only about 5 to 6 mph shy of being a category 3, the meteorologist said.
"There's huge wind damage. A lot of rain and dangers of flash flooding," Eversole said. "Live footage from Pensacola showed cars under water. Houses in Orange Beach have water in them. There's a warehouse in Elsanor, Alabama that's completely gone."
7:10 a.m.: Hurricane Sally slowly moves north
According to the latest National Hurricane Center briefing, Sally is now about 25 miles north of Gulf Shores where it made landfall shortly before 5 a.m.
The storm, as it has continued to do, is moving slowly at about 3 mph north-northeast.
"A north-northeastward to northeastward motion at a slightly faster forward speed is expected later today and tonight, followed by a faster northeastward motion on Thursday," according to the center's briefing. "On the forecast track, the center of Sally will move across the extreme western Florida panhandle and southeastern Alabama through early Thursday, and move over central Georgia Thursday afternoon through Thursday night."
As Sally continues to move and the sun comes up, images of the storm's wrath are beginning to make their way to social media. Debris in Orange Beach sloshed against some condos as a boat floated its way between some of the buildings.
7 a.m.: River levels rise following Sally's landfall
While storm surge is of great concern in coastal communities, river levels are rapidly rising too creating a dangerous situation across the area, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile.
The Fish and Styx rivers in Baldwin County were nearing moderate flood levels as of 6 a.m., according to the Southeast River Forecast Center. Further inland, Murder Creek in Brewton had just begun to rise.
6:16 a.m.: Power outages extend
Nearly all of Baldwin County has been plunged into darkness.
According to reported power outages, about 96% of customers are without power following Sally's landfall there. But outages are not isolated to Baldwin County.
Mobile County is now reporting over 57% of customers without power and Escambia County, Florida has about 72% of customers without power.
Further into Alabama, Escambia County, Alabama is now reporting about 43% of it's customers are without power, while Washington County reports 11% of customers are without power and there is about 16% without power in Monroe County.
Keep track of outages here.
6:10 a.m. Hurricane force winds spreading inland
According to a 6 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, hurricane force winds are now spreading inland. Sustained winds of 81 mph and gusts up to 99 mph have been recorded at Dauphin Island within the past hour.
Pensacola Naval Air Station recorded sustained winds of 61 mph and gusts up to 86 mph, according to the report.
The storm continues to move at a sluggish 3 mph, according to the update.
The NHC warned of life-threatening flooding and storm surge. Reed Timmer, a meteorologist and storm chaser, shared a video of violent gusts and water inundating the area he was in at Gulf Shores at 3:30 a.m.
6 a.m.: Tornado watch issued for inland communities
According to the National Weather Service in Mobile, several inland Alabama communities are now under a tornado watch.
The watch stretches from Escambia County, Alabama to the eastern state line including Conecuh, Covington, Coffee, Geneva, Dale, Henry and Houston counties. The watch also includes several Florida panhandle counties and and some southwest Georgi
5:55 a.m.: Sally 8th named storm to make landfall in 2020
Hurricane Sally set a record as the eighth named storm to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. in 2020, according to Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University who specializes in Atlantic basin seasonal hurricanes.
The previous record was set at seven named storms through September 16 in 1916, according to Klotzbach.
5:50 a.m.: About 87% of Baldwin County without power
About 87% of Baldwin County is without power in the wake of Hurricane Sally. The storm made landfall in Gulf Shores about 4:45 a.m.
Neighboring Mobile County has only reported about 37% of customers without power while Escambia County in Florida has reported about 33%.
Track the latest power outages with this interactive map.
More: See Alabama power outage map as Hurricane Sally approaches landfall
5:45 a.m.: Orange Beach officials extend curfew amid life-threatening conditions
The city of Orange Beach is "experiencing life threatening conditions as a result of Hurricane Sally nearing shore," according to a tweet from the police department.
The city will extend their curfew to at least noon Wednesday, but will likely be extended all day as crews assess any damage.
The police and fire department were "inundated with calls" and asked for understanding as they work.
5 a.m. Wednesday: Sally makes landfall in Gulf Shores
Hurricane Sally made landfall at 4:45 a.m. in Gulf Shores as a category 2 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. This is the first hurricane to make landfall in Alabama since Ivan did on the same day in the same place in 2004.
As the storm moves across southeastern Alabama, it's expected to leave 4 to 8 inches of rain with 12 inches possible in isolated areas, according to the center.
"Significant flash and urban flooding is likely, as well as widespread minor to moderate flooding on some rivers," the center said.
Dauphin Island across to the Okaloosa and Walton County, Florida line is expected to see between 4 and 7 feet of storm surge. Mobile Bay could see between 2 and 4 feet. Surge will be accompanied by large and damaging waves, according to the center.
Sally threatens to further erode Dauphin Island
Hurricane Sally is predicted to carry 6 to 9 feet of storm surge to Dauphin Island where the elevation is only about 7 feet.
Erosion has been a fact of life on Dauphin Island since the late 1950s, and past storms have done major damage.
George Crozier, a retired director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said the west end of the island could be underwater during the storm and it could erode the beaches and push sand from the western end of the island toward the north. Dauphin Island might not sink into the ocean, but gradually shift north.
More: Erosion a top concern for those on Alabama's Dauphin Island
Live look: Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island webcams show live conditions
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 334-318-1798 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus
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