Storm Surge/Tide — Lower Baldwin, Alabama

2017-06-22 · Lower Baldwin, Alabama

Event narrative

Flooding of the Highway 90 causeway started roughly around 6am CDT with both the east and west bound lanes of the Causeway closed near the Interstate 10 interchange by 9am CDT. The flooding abated by 3 to 4pm CDT.

A sidewalk near the Fairhope pier was damaged by the coastal flooding. Bayfront park in Daphne also experienced flooding.

The tidal gauge at the Coast Gurad Sector Mobile reached at 2.99 ft MHHW at 906am CDT.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Cindy first developed in the central Gulf of Mexico on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 20th and made landfall between Cameron, LA and Port Arthur, TX during the early morning hours of Thursday, June 22nd. Despite the center of the storm being far removed from the north central Gulf Coast, the effects of Cindy extended several hundred miles to the east of the center and impacted the local area starting late Tuesday and persisting through the end of the week.

The primary impact across southwest and south central Alabama was from heavy rain and flooding. The highest storm total observed was in Thomasville, AL which measured 11.37 of rain ending Friday night, June 23rd. Numerous locations across south central and southwest Alabama recorded 5 to 10 inches of rain. The heavy rain resulted in numerous instances of flash flooding and minor to moderate river flooding.

Coastal flooding also impacted Mobile and Baldwin Counties, particularly in the typical low lying locations. Tidal gauges indicate the maximum inundation was around 3 feet MHHW in the north end of Mobile Bay.

Four tornadoes occurred in southern Alabama during Cindy, 3 EF-0 and 1 EF-1.

Two fatalities occurred, one due to high surf and one due to rip currents.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 709936. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.