TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Sally weakened to a tropical depression Wednesday night, but is still bringing heavy rain to Alabama and western Georgia Thursday morning.
The storm brought strong winds and catastrophic flooding to portions of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, killing at least one person in Orange Beach, Alabama, and knocking out power to more than 540,000 homes and businesses
Sally is one of a number of systems swirling in the Atlantic basin Thursday morning with more potential storms also brewing. Forecasters are also monitoring Hurricane Teddy, Tropical Storm Vicky and three areas of interest.
Here are the latest updates on the systems being tracked:
Tropical Depression Sally
Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama Wednesday morning as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds.
The storm weakened to Category 1 strength after making landfall Wednesday and became a tropical storm at 2 p.m., then weakened further overnight.
Sally, now a tropical depression, had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph at 5 a.m. ET Thursday. It was about 50 miles southeast of Montgomery, Alabama, moving northeast at 12 mph.
Sally is still dumping heavy rain on eastern Alabama and western and central Georgia Thursday morning. It is expected to bring 3 to 6 inches of rain to portions of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the next two days. Some areas could see isolated amounts of 8 inches.
Sally is forecast to move across Alabama Thursday morning and over central Georgia Thursday afternoon and evening. It will reach South Carolina Thursday night or Friday.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Sally became the seventh named storm of the season to reach hurricane strength.
Hurricane Teddy
Hurricane Teddy reached Category 2 strength on Wednesday morning and is expected to continue strengthening this week. The storm is expected to become a major hurricane by Friday.
As of 5 a.m. ET, Thursday, Teddy was holding steady as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph maximum sustained winds. It was about 625 miles east-northeast of the Lesser Antilles, moving northwest at about 12 mph.
Teddy is forecast to strengthen as it continues northwest over the Atlantic and could become a major hurricane Thursday night or Friday.
Teddy became the earliest “T” named storm on record when it formed Monday.
Tropical Storm Vicky
Tropical Depression 21 strengthened into Tropical Storm Vicky Monday morning, but it is expected to be a short-lived system.
The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical depression sometime Thursday.
At 5 a.m. ET, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and was about 925 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands, moving west-northwest at about 7 mph.
Vicky is the twentieth named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. There is now only one name left on this year’s list of hurricane names: Wilfred.
Once this year’s list of names runs out, storms will start being named after the letters in the Greek alphabet. The last year we reached the Greek alphabet was in 2005.
Other areas to watch
Forecasters are also watching three areas of low pressure in the Gulf and the Atlantic.
The disturbance in the Gulf is producing showers and thunderstorms that appear to be becoming more organized. It has a high 70% chance of development in the next 48 hours, and a high 90% chance of development in the next five days.
Forecasters are also monitoring a non-tropical area of low pressure over the far northeastern Atlantic, a few hundred miles east-northeast of Azores. It’s chances of acquiring subtropical characteristics appear to be decreasing as it nears Portugal. It has a low 10% chance of development in the next five days.
The NHC is also watching an elongated area of low pressure a few hundred miles south-soutwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. The system is likely to become a tropical depression in the next few days. It has a medium 40% chance of development in the next 48 hours, and a high 60% chance of development over the next five days.
