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Hurricane Sally Threatens Historic Floods Along US Gulf Coast

Associated Press

   NAVARRE BEACH, FLORIDA - Heavy rain and pounding surf driven by
   Hurricane Sally hit the Florida and Alabama coasts Tuesday as
   forecasters expected the slow-moving storm to dump continuous deluges
   before and after landfall, possibly triggering dangerous, historic
   flooding along the northern Gulf Coast.

   "It's going to be a huge rainmaker," said Phil Klotzbach, a research
   scientist and meteorologist at Colorado State University. "It's not
   going to be pretty."

   The National Hurricane Center expected Sally to remain a Category 1
   hurricane, with top sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour at
   landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday. The storm's sluggish pace
   made it harder to predict exactly where its center will strike.

   The hurricane's slow movement exacerbated the threat of heavy rain and
   storm surge. Sally remained dangerous even after losing power, its
   fiercest winds having dropped considerably from a peak of 161 kph on
   Monday.

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