We in the weather business learned years ago to expect big rain amounts when a blanket of tropical air was present and thunderstorms were involved.
So it happened this afternoon and evening. A line of thunderstorms, feasting on leftover moisture from Tropical Storm Claudette, started in NW Alabama early this afternoon.
By 7:30 tonight, ther leading eastern edge of the heaviest rain had reached NE and East Alabama but steady rain was still occurring well to the west.
Flash flooding became a problem in many areas and the afternoon rush hour in the Birmingham Metro area was a mess.
The rain is slowly ebbing this evening. We may not post an extensive list of rain totals until all the amounts are in around 7:30 tomorrow morning. But here are some:
1.68 Bluff Park*
1.74 Tuscaloosa Airport
0.86 Shelby County Airport
0.63 Pinson
1.36 NE Trussville
1.59 Tuscaloosa Skycam
0.68 Jasper Skycam
1.50 Gardendale/Mt. Olive
1.71 Bear Creek, NE Marion County
1.53 Hamilton in only one hour
* A number of the 33/40 Skywatchers have digital rain gauges that not only measure the amount but how fast it was falling. At one time this evening, at Bluff Park, the rain was falling at the rate of 12 inches per hour! Where was Noah and his ark when we needed him?
