TROPICAL DEPRESSION GORDON DUMPS RAIN ACROSS WEST ALABAMA
UPDATE: Lots of rain over West Alabama around noon Wednesday.
Tropical Depression Gordon is piling up huge rainfall totals in parts of the South, including more than 10 inches in the Florida Panhandle.
The Southeast Regional Climate Center reports that about 10.5 inches fell at Florida’s Pensacola International Airport. The National Weather Service says that number will rise as rain continues to fall.
The Weather Service says the heaviest rain fell to the east of Gordon’s center, which came ashore in the Pascagoula, Mississippi, area. That means the most impressive rainfall totals so far have been in southern Alabama and in the Florida Panhandle.
In Baldwin County, rainfall estimates by mid-day Wednesday ranged from about 4 inches to 7.1 inches in one spot.
WVUA 23’s Richard Scott is watching the storms over the next few hours for any potential signs of rotation.
{{tncms-inline type=”twitter” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">At noon, lots of rain over west AL. We’ll need to watch any storms next few hours for any sign of rotation. <a href="https://twitter.com/wvua23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wvua23</a> <a href="https://t.co/fx4saXRgmd">pic.twitter.com/fx4saXRgmd</a></p>
<p>— Richard Scott (@RichardWVUA23) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardWVUA23/status/1037384135453622272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2018</a></p></blockquote>”}}
Tropical Storm Gordon is approaching landfall, and is speculated to possibly become a Category 1 hurricane at that time.
Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency in Baldwin, Choctaw, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and Washington County. A state of emergency has also been issued in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The storm is currently sustaining winds around 70 mph and will be hitting the Alabama later tonight.
“The worst side of a hurricane is always on the eastern side,” said Jason Senkbeil, an associate professor at the University of Alabama’s Department of Geography. “And what we call the northeast quadrant is the worst. And that’s going to be over Mobile County and the Pascagoula area.”
Senkbeil advised that people on Dauphin Island should consider evacuation because of the storm surge. He also advised that those in low lying areas near the Gulf Coast should also consider evacuation.
