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Waves crash near a pier at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Ala., on Tuesday. Hurricane Sally is crawling toward the northern Gulf Coast, a pace that’s enabling the storm to gather huge amounts of water to eventually dump on land. (Gerald Herbrt/AP)

Slow-moving Hurricane Sally threatens northern Gulf Coast, with ‘historic’ flooding forecast

The long-duration hurricane is deluging coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Up to 30 inches of rain are possible.

Hurricane Sally is slogging toward the northern Gulf Coast, where it threatens to unleash “historic” amounts of rain that could trigger “extreme life-threatening flash flooding” through at least Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center predicts the long-duration storm could produce as much as 30 inches of rain between southeastern Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, with widespread amounts of 10 to 20 inches.  
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Sally’s peak winds increased to 85 mph at 11 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. The Category 1 hurricane is forecast to sustain this intensity or slightly strengthen through landfall.
The storm track shifted slightly east Tuesday, with landfall now projected in coastal Alabama near the border with Florida on Wednesday morning.
Tropical storm-force winds were lashing the coast of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday night, where flash flooding was underway. Radar indicated already up to a foot of rain near Pensacola. An ocean surge of several feet was also inundating low-lying areas along the coast. More than 85,000 customers were without power.
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Sally’s peak winds increased to 85 mph at 11 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. The Category 1 hurricane is forecast to sustain this intensity or slightly strengthen through landfall.
The storm track shifted slightly east Tuesday, with landfall now projected in coastal Alabama near the border with Florida on Wednesday morning.
Tropical storm-force winds were lashing the coast of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday night, where flash flooding was underway. Radar indicated already up to a foot of rain near Pensacola. An ocean surge of several feet was also inundating low-lying areas along the coast. More than 85,000 customers were without power.
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