Flash floods cause rescues and cover roads in Alabama – Boston News, Weather, Sports

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) – Up to six inches of rain fell in Alabama in about a day, triggering flash floods that required the rescue of some people. Additional storms on Wednesday brought the threat of tornadoes to the southeast.

Heavy rains after dark on Wednesday also caused flooding in northern Alabama, with cars submerged on Birmingham metro roads and parts of the Tennessee Valley. Rescue teams helped motorists escape vehicles, and emergency officials said the combination of low visibility and standing water was life-threatening in some areas.

In southern Alabama, near the Florida Line, streets were covered with water in the flood-prone towns of Escambia County, Brewton and East Brewton, inundating businesses with a shopping center with several feet of water.

Up to three feet of water was inside the community’s main grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, and two schools had to cancel classes, Escambia Sheriff Heath Jackson said.

“We hope the rain will stop so we can get some of that water… from here and we can start going into these businesses that have taken the water to see what we can do to help them. Jackson said. WKRG-TV.

To the south in Baldwin County, up to 250,000 gallons (946,353 liters) of sewage overflowed from sewage systems along Mobile Bay, officials said.

With total precipitation already ranging from 2 inches (5 centimeters) to 6 inches across the state this week, forecasters said an additional 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain was possible, with the heaviest rains in the north.

Severe storms and a few isolated tornadoes from a slow low pressure system were a threat, mainly in the afternoon, forecasters said. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia and southern Tennessee.

Flash flood watch covered most of Alabama and northern Georgia, and forecasters issued flood warnings near a few swollen streams and rivers.

The rains are expected to end by Thursday evening as the storms move east, forecasters said.

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