Storm Surge/Tide — Baldwin Coastal, Alabama

2018-09-04 to 2018-09-05 · Baldwin Coastal, Alabama

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall just west of the Alabama-Mississippi at 1015 PM CDT on September 4, 2018 with estimated maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Gordon then tracked northwest into portions of inland southeast Mississippi late on the night of September 4th into the early morning of September 5th.

Gordon produced sustained tropical storm force winds Greene and George counties in Mississippi, coastal Alabama, as well as Escambia County in Florida. The strongest winds were confined to the immediate coast, with Dauphin Island experiencing gusts to hurricane force in the northern eyewall. Wind gusts to hurricane force were reported on Dauphin Island with sustained tropical storm force winds reported as far north as the

Mobile Regional Airport. Some homes on Dauphin Island experienced roof and siding damage. Isolated to scattered down trees and power outages were reported in southern mobile county. Further east, tropical storm force winds, primarily in gusts, impacted areas of Baldwin county south of interstate 10 with the strongest winds along the immediate coast. Strong tropical storm force winds were felt on the Ft. Morgan peninsula where a few homes suffered some siding or roof damage. The steeple was blown off of the Romar Beach Baptist church in Orange Beach. Some trees were downed and scattered power outages were reported. In Escambia County, FL, tropical storm force wind gusts impacted the southern half of the county, especially in the Pensacola metro and the immediate coast. Sustained tropical storm force winds were reported at Pensacola NAS. One fatality was reported near Pensacola when a tree fell onto a mobile home and killed a small child. In Greene and George counties in Mississippi, tropical storm force winds downed trees and power lines, particularly in the Merrill and Richton communities. One home in Richton was significantly damaged by a downed tree.

Storm surge inundation peaked between 2 to 3 feet across coastal Alabama and Escambia County, FL. This resulted in flooding of typically low lying areas of Mobile and Baldwin Counties, including the west end of Dauphin Island and the US Highway 90 Causeway. The Fort Pickens area in Florida experienced significant coastal flooding and beach erosion.

Rainfall totals of 6-12 inches were recorded to the east of the center, primarily over Baldwin, Washington, Choctaw, Clarke, Escamba AL, Escambia FL, and Santa Rosa FL. The highest total measured was 12.45 inches 7 miles ENE of Gulf Breeze, FL. This resulted in areas of flash flooding, along with some significant river flooding. The Styx River reached major flood stage while the Fish River reached moderate flood stage.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 785001. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.