WAVELAND, Miss. (AP) — Hurricane Sally is slowly closing in on the northern Gulf Coast with powerful winds and weather forecasters are warning of “potentially historic” flooding.
Hurricane warnings stretch from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Navarre, Florida. In Alabama on Monday, Gov. Kay Ivey asked for a federal emergency declaration as the weather service warned of a storm surge of more than 9 feet in the Mobile area.
The storm reached Category 2 strength with sustained winds of 100 mph Monday afternoon.
Latest 4 PM advisory update from @NHC_Atlantic on Hurricane #Sally. Sally has strengthened to a Category 2 storm and is expected to continue strengthening in intensity through late tonight. Finalize preparations NOW . #lawx #mswx pic.twitter.com/rTwNcijKfq
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) September 14, 2020
"Sally a little stronger, additional strengthening expected tonight. Life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and flash flooding likely along portions of the northern Gulf Coast starting tonight and Tuesday," wrote the NHC in an update posted at 4 p.m. ET.
Here are the 4 PM CDT Key Messages for #Sally https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/5q9nyNWl8W
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 14, 2020
Forecasters said winds would likely hit 110 mph by the time the storm makes landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday on the Mississippi-Alabama state line.
