Weather

Hurricane Sally Is Pummeling South Alabama and Pensacola, Fla. on Wednesday

By A.J. Katz 

Hurricane Sally officially made landfall at Gulf Shores, Ala., Wednesday at the crack of dawn as a Category 2 hurricane.

Fast forward three-plus hours, and in the 9 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. CDT public advisory, the National Hurricane Center reports that Sally has dropped to a Cat 1, with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour, located about 20 miles north, northeast of Gulf Shores, and 25 miles west of Pensacola, Fla.

“Hurricane-force winds spreading inland over southeastern Alabama and the Western portion of the Florida Panhandle,” reports NOAA forecaster Brown.”… catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely along portions of the north-central gulf coast.”

ABC News meteorologist Rob Marciano took this video at roughly 8:20 a.m. ET from Pensacola.

ABC chief meteorologist Ginger Zee is reporting from downtown Mobile, Ala., this morning, which was shredded over night from winds, but is seeing less rain now.

Fox News correspondent Ashley Strohmier reported for Fox & Friends First from Mobile at 5 a.m. ET (4 a.m. CDT – local time). The scene in Mobile was still ugly at this point:

Here’s Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Bruin in downtown Pensacola, which is seeing far more rain than Mobile and points west Wednesday morning:

Here’s an absolutely soaked Gary Tuchman reporting for CNN New Day from Pensacola Beach. “It sounds like a war is being fought, the sounds are loud, jarring and frightening,” said Tuchman, adding that he also heard transformers exploding everywhere.

Here’s Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel, also in Pensacola Beach:

TWC’s Tevin Wooten reporting from Navarre Beach, Fla., on the Panhandle this morning:

CBS’ David Begnaud says Sally hit where he’s currently stationed (Pensacola Beach) at 110 mph; just under a Cat 3 level hurricane. Here’s some video:

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi is reporting from Orange Beach, Ala.

As Hurricane Sally made landfall on the U.S. Gulf this morning, Teddy—forming in the Atlantic Ocean—has strengthened into a hurricane.

That means there are currently three active storms in the Atlantic with winds of 100 mph or higher: Sally and Teddy, plus Paulette, although she appears to be moving back into the Atlantic.

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