By Jim Stefkovich, Meteorologist, Alabama Emergency Management Agency
CLANTON –Monday, 830 am August 30, 2021
A Tropical Storm Warning is still in effect for Washington, Mobile and Baldwin counties and a Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Mobile and Baldwin counties. Flash Flood Watches have been issued for almost the entire state.
At 4 am, Ida is now a tropical storm located southwest of McComb MS with sustained winds of 60 mph and higher gusts.
There is a statewide tornado threat through tonight, especially across the southern half of the state. The tornado threat will continue on Tuesday across the eastern half. You should have at least two methods to receive severe weather watches and warnings. Tropical tornadoes can develop very quickly with little lead time and are often very difficult to see due to being rain-wrapped.
An additional widespread 3-6 inches of rain will occur across much of Alabama through Tuesday night, with 5-10 inches near the coast. There could be spots that receive 12-15 inches of rain, resulting in significant flash flooding.
Most flash flood deaths occur in vehicles so don’t drive into water covered roads. It only takes about 18 inches of water for most vehicles to lose contact with the pavement and if the water is moving, you can quickly be swept away.
Sustained winds across much of the state today and Tuesday will be 15-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, especially across the western half of the state. With heavy rainfall over the next two days, these winds combined with saturated soil conditions could down trees onto powerlines causing outages.