Storm Surge/Tide — Lower Mobile, Alabama

2017-06-22 · Lower Mobile, Alabama

Event narrative

Shell Belt Road in Bayou La Batre was flooded. The tidal gauge at Bayou La Batre reached 2.6 feet MHHW at 1130am 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 709940. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.