Ryan W. Miller
Annie Blanks
Sept. 16, 2020
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Part of a bridge collapsed in Pensacola as 30 inches of rain and storm surge turned streets into white-capped rivers Wednesday after Hurricane Sally lurched ashore the Gulf Coast.
Though downgraded to a tropical storm by Wednesday afternoon, Sally's strong winds battered Alabama and Florida as the center moved over the Panhandle. In Pensacola, Florida, a section of the Pensacola Bay Bridge collapsed, and downtown was largely underwater.
Flooding as the slow storm dumped intense rains has proven to be Sally's most serious danger: "Historic and catastrophic flooding, including widespread moderate to major river flooding, is unfolding," forecasters say.
Photos and video from coastal areas showed trees downed, debris and boats thrown about and streets flooded. Around 9 a.m. local time, a water level station in Pensacola reported inundation around 5.5 feet above sea level, the National Hurricane Center said.
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Sally is the eighth named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. this year — the most through Sept. 16 in recorded history, surpassing the seven storms of 1916, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist and meteorologist at Colorado State University.
The record for most continental U.S. landfalls in a single Atlantic season is nine, also set in 1916. The center of Sally's eye made landfall around 4:45 a.m. local time near near Gulf Shores, Alabama.
– John Bacon, USA TODAY | 4:45 a.m. CT
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tags: severe weather, extreme weather,
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