A major rainfall triggered flooding in Birmingham, the "seat" of Alabama's most populous county, in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama.
AccuWeather forecast shows that the large amount of rainfall descended in the city around 3-4 PM EDT hour, Wednesday. The surge of floodwaters in the afternoon hours lead to multiple road closures and serious travel issues throughout the area.
The hardest-hit areas of the intense rain were in the southwest sector of the city, namely the neighborhoods of Oxmoor and Huntington Park. AccuWeather meteorologist Danielle Knittle said that the downpour was a result of a low-pressure area gradually moving through the Southeast, which also previously caused local severe thunderstorms throughout parts of central Florida.
"However, closer to Birmingham, showers and thunderstorms blossomed right under the upper-level low and, with little wind aloft, these storms moved very slowly and trained over the same area," Knittle said. "Torrential downpours over this small area quickly led to radar estimated totals of 1.5 to 3 inches of rain in a very short period of time."
Road trouble ahead
Travellers are advised to stay away from the affected areas around that time and "avoid travel in downtown Birmingham," the National Weather Service (NWS) of Birmingham announced. The weather service warns for floating cars, impassable roads, and multiple water rescues as flooding reports persist in the area.
In addition, service departments of Birmingham Fire and Rescue and Birmingham Police already responded to "nearly half a dozen" water rescues, according to Birmingham ABC 33/40 News.
BFRS Captain Orlando Reynolds told CBS42 news channel about the response for over 20 water-related calls in Wednesday afternoon, eight of which were actual rescues. This includes the rescue of a 60-year-old man who is currently in a critical condition after being pulled from the water by bystanders near the Southtown area of the city.
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Flooding in an area that "doesn't normally flood"
Floodings from the potent downpour even reached Birmingham's Crestwood, "an area that doesn't normally flood," according to Birmingham resident, Ben Blackerby. "Can't believe flash flood warnings haven't been issued yet. It's gotta be worse in other places," he added.
The campus of University of Alabama at Birmingham was also severely flooded as caught on local resident Andy Rains' phone. The university's emergency management division released a statement about flooding on the campus:
"Campus is experiencing flooding in some areas. Please remain weather aware and do not drive through standing water. Multiple Blazer Express routes are affected. Expect delays."
Other major flooding includes the intersection of Highway 79 and Springdale Road and Shades Creek in Homewood.
Accuweather estimates more rainfall coming to the central and northeast portions of the city at night, except the intensity should be manageable. "The heavy downpours have weakened and lingering showers in the area early this evening will taper off and slowly move off to the east," Knittle said.
The night sky is expected to "clear some through the first part tonight before some areas of low clouds and perhaps even some patchy fog form overnight," he noted.
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