Flood in Covington County, Alabama

Numerous roads in the county were closed due to flooding. Many dirt roads and bridges were damaged by the flood waters.

Several rounds of heavy rainfall impacted southwest and south central Alabama during the last 2 weeks of December. In total, most locations received at least six to eight inches of rainfall, with many inland locations receiving at least ten inches of rainfall. Doppler radar estimated that nearly fifteen of rain occurred in parts of Crenshaw and Covington Counties. The excessive rainfall was the result of near record levels of deep layer moisture for late December (precipitable waters of 1.75 to 2 inches) combined with unseasonable instability and a series of significant shortwaves that moved across the region.

Periods of heavy rain impacted the area on December 17th and December 21st and helped to saturate ground conditions. The additional heavy rainfall from December 23rd to early December 25th then resulted in many areas of flooding. Flooding problems began in earnest across south central Alabama by December 24th. Extensive flooding of rivers, creeks, and streams impacted numerous roads. The response time for the flooding was generally greater than 6 hours and was the result of the long duration of the rain event. Moderate flooding occurred on the Styx River at Elsanor, with minor flooding on the Burnt Corn and Murder Creeks, the Big Escambia River at Flomaton, the Conecuh River at River Falls, the Perdido River at Barrineau Park, and the Fish River at Silverhill.