Tropical Storm Sally live updates: Get the latest here

Steve Arnold
Montgomery Advertiser

Tropical Storm Sally is slogging its way across across Alabama, leaving death, flooding and property damage across the southern part of the state and here in the capital city.

Alabama's USA Today Network and its partners are gathering information from across the state and beyond as they come in. Here are the updates from Thursday. 

12 p.m.: Check out this Hurricane Sally timelapse video

10:45 a.m.: Southeast Alabama sees flash floods, downed trees

Pike County emergency managers are reporting an estimated 35 to 40 trees downed in the area while Eufaula is reporting "numerous" trees on the ground.

Also, officials are reporting flash flooding along Highway 10 at Blue Springs State Park. 

10:30 a.m.: Ivey: 'It's been mighty bad'

Alabama had confirmed one fatality statewide by Thursday morning as Hurricane Sally recovery efforts got underway.

“We hope that we don’t have any more deaths,” Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Brian Hastings said. “Sally was a very devastating and historic storm, and it seems like people heeded some of the warnings, and I’m so pleased that people were able to get out of harm’s way.”

Orange Beach Mayor Tom Kennon said Wednesday that one person died in that coastal town and another person was missing. The Alabama National Guard had rescued 35 people by Thursday morning, and the U.S. Coast Guard had rescued another 18. Three shelters were operating in Baldwin, Mobile and Escambia counties.

“While it could be much worse, it’s been mighty bad,” Gov. Kay Ivey said. Among other things, she said the storms have delayed workers who are trying to restore residential power.

Hastings and other state officials warned Thursday that many preventable deaths happen in the aftermath of major storms and urged people to be patient and stay off the roads as much as possible during the cleanup and recovery process.

One of the biggest dangers right now is standing water on the roadways, as river levels continue to rise in many areas. State officials cautioned people not to attempt to drive over flooded roads. “As little as 12 inches will move a small car,” Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor said. “You don’t know how deep it is. You don’t know if there’s a power line under it.”

10 a.m.: Meanwhile, at the beach...

A gray sky loomed over Perdido Key and Orange Beach on Thursday morning.

A few gusty winds pushed standing water to and fro in their pools across Perdido Beach Boulevard. 

Power poles snapped in half and weak palms downed in the hurricane-force winds populated the stretch of beach highway more so than people. 

A downed tree pins a car in Gulf Shores, Alabama, after Hurricane Sally made landfall on Sept. 16, 2020.

The second floor of a yellow home, torn open by Sally, exposed the resident’s life to the elements. The kitchen cabinets were empty, the contents of which fell to the center of the room and littered throughout. A desk in what was presumably an office was upended and filing cabinets were pinned at an angle, close to tipping over. 

Florida police gave the two-finger wave as motorists pulled over the bridge into Perdido Key. At the state line, however, Alabama law enforcement stopped cars two at a time asking to see licenses or proof of employment to allow people into Orange Beach. 

On Ono Island, moored boats bobbed gently in the high water, while others that had been freed from their anchor sat upon a bed of dead grasses, orange traffic cones and mismatched boards of wood. A few homes, left to weather Sally’s wrath with shuttered windows, had a small pool with a front yard under it.  

9:45 a.m.: Flood warnings up across southern Alabama

The National Weather Service Office in Birmingham has issued flood warnings for Catoma Creek in Montgomery. At 8 a.m. Thursday, the creek was at 12.3 feet near the U.S. Highway 331 bridge. Flood stage is 20 feet. The creek is expected to crest at 22.6 feet Saturday morning and fall below flood stage early Saturday afternoon.

The Tallapoosa River at the Tallapoosa Water Plant affecting Montgomery and Elmore counties. At 8:15 a.m. Thursday the river was at 15.1 feet with flood stage being 25 feet. The river is expected to crest at 27.6 feet Friday night and fall below flood stage Saturday afternoon.

Flood warnings for the Alabama River at Montgomery and Selma have been canceled.

9:15 a.m.: Many southern Alabama roads closed

All roads and bridges in northern Coffee County are closed while county crews make inspections, per the county emergency management agency. The Pea River at Elba is expected to crest at 42 feet at 1 a.m. Friday.

In Pike County, all county offices are closed Thursday.

Roads in Pike and Crenshaw counties are closed while road department crews make inspections, according to the county EMAs. People are urged to stay off the roads to make way for emergency vehicles and cleanup efforts.

9 a.m.: Weather to improve rapidly, but flooding a concern

Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are possible today, but this should not contribute to additional flooding issues, said Jim Stefkovich, meteorologist with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Still, number of rivers and creeks between Montgomery, Dothan and Mobile will remain in moderate or major flood stage until Saturday and many homes and businesses will be flooded in this region, he said.

The National Weather Service Office in Birmingham is forecasting a fall-like weekend for the Montgomery area. Saturday will be mostly cloudy with a high of 76 and low that night of 60. There’s a 20 percent chance of rain Saturday. Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 74 and a low that night of 57. Humidity levels will drop noticeably over the weekend. And early next week is expected to be sunny with highs in the mid to upper 70s and lows in the mid to upper 50s.

8:30 a.m.: Gov. Ivey to speak at 10 a.m.

Gov. Kay Ivey will host a press conference via Facebook Live at 10 a.m. to give an update on the impact of Hurricane Sally on the state. She will be joined by Alabama Emergency Management Agency Brian Hastings, Adjutant General of the Alabama National Guard Sheryl Gordon and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor.  

8:15 a.m. Latest rain totals

Montgomery had recorded 4.35 inches of rainfall by early Thursday morning, and more than 10,000 customers were without power.

City officials said 12 streets had flooded since the start of the storm, though most were clear by 8 a.m. One of the biggest trouble spots was Japonica Street near East South Boulevard.

Trees were reported down in more than a dozen areas, and crews had cleared three of those sites by early Thursday. Streets that were still blocked included Peabody Road, the 3400 block of Whiting Avenue, the 1800 block of Galena Street, 3600 Farrar Street, Eastdale Road at Birchwood Apartments, Myrtlewood Drive, Bankhead Avenue, Coliseum Avenue at Creative Street, Amanda Lane, 14 Mimosa Drive and Gunter Park Drive at Peterson Lodge.

Traffic lights were flashing at Bell and Vaughn Roads, Carter Hill and Robinson Hill roads, South Court Street and Fleming Road, and South Court Street at East South Boulevard.

8 a.m.: Power outage update

Approximately 160,000 Alabama Power customers are without service statewide.  Of that number, 26,000 outages exist in central Alabama.  Outages are a result of numerous fallen trees and large limbs resulting in broken poles and downed wire.  The following is a breakdown of those outage locations:

  • Montgomery County – 10,500 customers
  • Elmore County – 4,200 customers
  • Tallapoosa County – 2,900 customers
  • Autauga County – 2,400 customers
  • Lowndes County 1,600 customers
  • Butler County – 1,300 customers
  • Lee County – 1,200 customers
  • Dallas County – 1,100 customers
  • Wilcox County – 200 customers
  • Bullock County – 150 customers

Important storm safety reminders:

  • Stay away, and keep children and pets away, from downed lines. Do not drive over lines or under low-hanging lines. Always assume power lines are energized.
  • Avoid areas with fallen trees or limbs where downed lines may be hidden.
  • DO NOT attempt to remove tree limbs or anything else caught in power lines. To report an issue, call Alabama Power at 1-800-888-2726 or contact local law enforcement.
  • DO NOT attempt to make repairs to Alabama Power equipment. Call 1-800-888-2726 and wait for our trained work crews to get there so they can perform the potentially dangerous work.
  • Stay away from areas where repair crews are working. If driving near work crews, obey road signs and proceed cautiously.
  • Please maintain adequate distance as we make repairs and restore power.  At the very least, please maintain a safe distance of at least six feet from our crews and field representatives to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Staff writers Brad Harper, Kirsten Fiscus, Marty Roney and Krista Johnson contributed to this report.