Flash Flood — Montgomery, Alabama

2009-05-07 · near Montgomery, Montgomery, Alabama

Direct deaths

$1.8M

Property damage

Event narrative

The city of Montgomery experienced extensive flash flooding due to a period of very heavy rainfall. An estimated 10+ inches of rain fell in portions of Montgomery County in about a six hour time frame. The downtown area, including the capitol district, was hit especially hard. At least three feet of water flowed into the basement of the Statehouse building, and state legislators temporarily moved to backup chambers in the old Capitol. Numerous streets downtown were closed, and numerous cars became stranded in the high water. One 67 year old man drowned when his car was swept away by flood waters in Montgomery.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving area of thunderstorms brought considerable flash flooding to several counties in central and southeast Alabama. A relatively narrow but rather long swath of rainfall of 3 to more than 7 inches stretched from northeastern Autauga County, across the city of Montgomery, and into southern Russell and northern Barbour Counties. Peak rainfall amounts approached 10 inches.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.3777, -86.3223)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 176053. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.