Torrential rainfall and 'historic' flooding claimed a life in Florida's panhandle late Tuesday - the latest fallout from a monster weather system that has killed at least 35 people in six states.
Tornado watches were issued in four states early Wednesday, as the slow-moving storm continued to bring high winds and thunderstorms to the Deep South.
More than 21 inches of rain fell in a 23-hour period in Pensacola, Fla., washing away bridges and closing mile after mile of highways across the region.
More than five inches fell on Pensacola in the single hour between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. CT (10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET) Tuesday, according the National Weather Service.
'That's more than the city got in the whole of Hurricane Ivan,' Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said.
'We have been emphatically pleading with people to stay off the roadways,' said Escambia County spokesman spokesman Bill Pearson, who said reports of a second fatality were 'unconfirmed.'
Pearson said emergency officials had described it was the worst flooding they had seen in 30 years.
Roth said the rainfall was 'most likely' record-setting but a suspected lightning strike has knocked out Pensacola's NWS reporting station.
In Alabama, a reverse 911 was sent to residents after 'major flooding' at Fish River, near Silverhill , emergency officials said. Water levels there were higher than during Hurricane Danny in 1997, the National Weather Service said.
The flooding looked set to worsen across northwest Florida and southwest Alabama as the rain continued into Wednesday, according to Derek Beasley, a meteorologist with NBC station WPMI in Mobile, Ala.
Mobile, Ala., recorded 8.99 inches of rain Tuesday - the city's fifth-wettest day in 143 years - according to the National Weather Service, which called the floodwaters 'extremely dangerous and life-threatening.'
'It is imperative that those individuals in the path of this storm system monitor the emerging situation and follow all instructions from local officials,' said Bryan W. Koon, director for Florida's Division of Emergency Management. 'All Floridians should stay alert to possible impacts of this storm system. Do not drive into flood water.'
Police and fire officials in Farmville, N.C., undertook 10 'water rescues' of motorists in stranded vehicles and evacuated residents of several homes as floodwaters of 2½ to 3 feet cascaded down city streets, Police Chief Donnie Greene told NBC station WITN of Winston-Salem.
In all, The Weather Channel reported that 75 million people were at risk for severe weather on Tuesday.
First published April 30 2014, 12:25 AM
Alastair JamiesonAlastair Jamieson is a London-based reporter, editor and homepage producer for NBC News. He joined NBCNews.com in 2011 after more than a decade working as a reporter and news editor for British newspapers including The Sunday Telegraph and Daily Telegraph in London and The Scotsman in Edinburgh.
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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