The Latest: Gov: Parts of Alabama seeing historic flooding

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Photo credit Flood waters move on the street, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in Pensacola, Fla. Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Here are the latest developments on tropical weather:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says some areas of the state are seeing historic flood levels from slow-moving Hurricane Sally and more flooding is expected throughout the day.

Ivey urged people Wednesday to refrain from getting on roads unless they absolutely have to and said the best thing is for people to stay home.

Hurricane Sally lumbered ashore near the Florida-Alabama line Wednesday morning with 105 mph (165 kph) winds and rain measured in feet, not inches. It has swamped homes and trapped people in high water as it creeps inland for what could be a long, slow and disastrous drenching across the Deep South.

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NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Coast Guard has sent helicopters flying over the Gulf Coast to check for anyone in distress as Hurricane Sally pummels the region with wind and rain.

In a statement, the agency says MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and MH-65 Dolphin choppers were checking for trouble, but had no immediate reports of any distress calls or search-and-rescue incidents as of mid-morning Wednesday.

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph). It has since weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moves inland.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A sheriff says Hurricane Sally has knocked out a section of the new Three Mile Bridge in Pensacola, Florida, as the storm pounds the Gulf Coast with wind and rain.

At a news conference, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan confirmed that part of the new bridge had come off amid the storm.

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

MIAMI — Hurricane Sally has decreased to a Category 1 storm as it pounds the Gulf Coast, but remains a dangerous rainmaker.

Sally's maximum sustained winds decreased to near 80 mph (130 kph) late Wednesday morning and the U.S. National Hurricane Center says additional weakening is expected as the storm moves farther inland.

As of 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday, the storm was centered about 15 miles (20 kilometers) west-northwest of Pensacola, Florida, and moving north-northeast near 5 mph (7 kph).

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

PENSACOLA, Fla. — With Hurricane Sally moving slowly and lashing the Gulf Coast with wind and rain, officials say worst may be yet to come.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan says thousands of people in the communities he serves around Pensacola, Florida, will need to be evacuated from rising water in the coming days. Morgan said there are entire communities they’ll have to evacuate. He says deputies have already rescued more than 40 people late Wednesday morning, including a family of four that was in a tree and was brought to safety with a high-water vehicle.

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says the White House is “fully engaged" as Hurricane Sally pounds the Gulf Coast with wind and rain.

Speaking Wednesday morning on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” McEnany said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is also fully engaged and cited President Donald Trump's issuance of emergency declarations for the affected states.

McEnany didn’t have details on which officials the president had spoken with as of Wednesday morning but said “it’s safe to say the White House has been in active contact with all of these governors.”

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- City officials in Orange Beach, Alabama, say they've received 120 calls after midnight from people whose homes were flooded by Hurricane Sally.

Mayor Tony Kennon says between 50 and 60 people were rescued and are staying in makeshift shelters Wednesday morning.

Kennon also said there are people they haven't been able to get to because of high water. But he said they're safe in their homes and will be rescued as soon as the water recedes.

Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard crews based in New Orleans are prepared to make rescues if needed, as soon as the storm passes.

Sally made landfall early Wednesday near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — A section of Florida's Highway 98, which runs parallel to the Gulf of Mexico, is blocked by debris and downed power lines as Hurricane Sally moves inland after making landfall on the Gulf Coast.

In a tweet, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office says residents should stay home because roads in the area “are dangerous right now." The agency says numerous roads in the area are closed due to the storm.

The Category 2 hurricane made landfall early Wednesday morning near Gulf Shores, Alabama, with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph).

The National Hurricane Center says Sally is still Category 2 Hurricane with top winds of 100 mph (155 kph) as it moves inland, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) north-northeast of Gulf Shores, Alabama.

That's where it made landfall at 4:45 a.m. local time Wednesday. Hurricane-force winds still extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 kilometers), so life-threatening conditions are affecting a big stretch of the Gulf Coast.

The hurricane center says “historic and catastrophic flooding is unfolding,” with up to 35 inches of rain expected.

Officials in Florida’s Panhandle have shut down Interstate 10 at the Escambia Bay Bridge near Pensacola due to sustained high winds on Wednesday morning. Multiple roads have also been shut down due to flooding in Florida’s Panhandle.

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GULF SHORES, Ala. — Hurricane Sally made landfall Wednesday morning near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 2 storm, pushing a surge of ocean water onto the coast and dumping torrential rain that forecasters said would cause dangerous flooding from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi and well inland in the days ahead.

Moving at an agonizingly slow 3 mph, Sally finally came ashore at 4:45 a.m. local time with top winds of 105 mph (165 kmh), the National Hurricane Center said.

Sally’s northern eyewall had raked the Gulf Coast with hurricane-force winds and rain from Pensacola Beach, Florida, westward to Dauphin Island, Alabama, for hours before its center finally hit land.

Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are without power, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us, as the winds and rain down power lines and flood streets and homes.

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MIAMI - As strong winds from Hurricane Sally continue to batter the Gulf Coast, Stacy Stewart, a senior specialist with the National Hurricane Center says the storm could strengthen further before the entire eyewall moves inland and the center of the Hurricane crosses the gulf Coast between 6 and 7 a.m. EST.

He says the hurricane will bring “catastrophic and life threatening” rainfall over portions of the Gulf Coast, Florida panhandle and southeastern Alabama through Wednesday night.

The hazards associated with the hurricane are going to continue after it makes landfall, with the storm producing heavy rainfall Wednesday night and Thursday over portions of central and southern Georgia, Stewart said.

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Hurricane Sally’s northern eyewall is raking the Gulf Coast with hurricane-force winds and rain from Pensacola Beach, Florida westward to Dauphin Island, Alabama, the National Hurricane Center said.

Forecasters say landfall won't come until later Wednesday when the center of the very slow moving hurricane finally reaches the coast. Sally remains centered about 50 miles (75 kilometers) south-southeast of Mobile, Alabama and 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Pensacola, Florida, with top winds of 105 mph (165 kmh), moving north-northeast at 3 mph (6 kmh).

Already trees are falling, street signs are swinging and cars are getting stuck in floods in Gulf Shores, Alabama, according to videos posted on social media. More than 300,000 customers are without power in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana.

Meanwhile Teddy has rapidly intensified into a hurricane and is forecast to become a catastrophic Category 4, possibly reaching Bermuda this weekend.

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MIAMI - Tropical Storm Teddy has now become a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (160 kph) the National Hurricane Center said.

Some strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Teddy is likely to become a major hurricane later Wednesday and could reach Category 4 strength on Thursday.

Teddy is located about 820 miles (1,335 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (40 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (281 km).

Meanwhile as Hurricane Sally slowly made its way toward land, nearly 332,000 homes and businesses had lost electricity across Alabama, Florida and Louisiana by Wednesday morning, according to the poweroutage.us site. The site says about 192,000 of those outages were in Alabama while more than 78,000 were in Florida.

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MOSS POINT, Miss. - As Sally’s outer bands reached the Gulf Coast, the manager of an alligator ranch in Moss Point, Mississippi, was hoping he wouldn’t have to live a repeat of what happened at the gator farm in 2005.

That’s when about 250 alligators escaped their enclosures during Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge.

Tim Parker, manager of Gulf Coast Gator Ranch & Tours, said Sally has been a stressful storm because forecasters were predicting a storm surge of as much as 9 feet in the area. But, he says he was feeling some relief after new surge predictions had gone down.

“Now they’re talking about maybe two to four foot, which won’t be bad here,” Parker said. “My parking lot might go under water. Our office might partially go under water, but it’s not going to be too bad.”

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PENSACOLA, Fla. — Sally has restrengthened into a powerful Category 2 hurricane as it veers eastward and crawls toward a potential landfall between the Florida Panhandle and Mobile Bay.

The National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday that the storm's sustained winds had increased to 100 mph (161 kph).

The latest forecast track has the hurricane making landfall later Wednesday morning. The storm is barely moving, creeping forward at 2 mph (3 kph).

About 1 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sally was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, and 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Pensacola, Florida.