Hurricane Ida could bring localized flooding to Wiregrass

The surprising emergence of Hurricane Ida could be cause for concern in the Wiregrass.

According to the National Weather Service, the hurricane is expected to make landfall just west of Alabama, but the resulting rain may cause localized flooding, with the potential for more widespread floods.

NWS meteorologist Ron Block says the hurricane will affect southeast Alabama Monday night and early Tuesday morning, bringing 2 inches of widespread rain and up to 5 inches in some local areas.

Winds are expected to stay in the 15-20 mph range, though some gusts could reach 35 mph.

For now, the Houston County Emergency Management Agency is only concerned about the areas that are traditionally prone to flooding.

“Low-lying urban areas and small stream flooding are what we’re worried about,” said EMA Director Clark Matthews. “Wind’s not supposed to be that bad. We’ll have some trees come down, probably, but we don’t expect anything significant that we don’t deal with every year.”

Ida’s appearance is unseasonably late.

“It’s certainly not unheard of, but normally it’s quite rare (to have a hurricane) this late in the season,“ Block said. “By now, water temperature tends to have cooled off a bit. It stayed long enough near Nicaragua, the water was warm enough, (and) it had just the right conditions. The trajectory moved north, and it’s going to move northeastward. All the things kind of came together.“

Those who live in low-lying areas should stay up to date on Ida’s progress.

“If you live in areas that flooded in March, be cautious, pay attention, because things can happen in a hurry,” Matthews said. “We’ll put out advisory warnings as we get them, because things can always change.”

Matthews expects the EMA to hold a webinar meeting sometime Monday morning.