Forecasters with the National Weather Service are hoping to avoid a repeat of the flooding that occurred in Birmingham this week. More storms are expected this morning in Central Alabama and the bad weather could continue until late tonight. Heavy rain on Wednesday swamped streets in downtown Birmingham. First responders had to rescue a number of people trapped in their cars. Jason Holmes is with the National Weather Service. He says a number of factors made Wednesday a bad day…
“Slow moving, heavy, thunderstorms do drop a lot of rain in a short period of time,” said Holmes. “And then you add in the terrain, urban areas typically, have challenges in handling all the runoff.”
Video and images shared on social media show water flowing across sidewalks and into some businesses. Standing storm water and rainwater venting from storm drains were still visible in downtown Birmingham a day after the rain hit. Holmes with the National Weather Service says it’s easy for urban motorists to be caught off guard when bad storms hit…
“You know, you don’t have much reaction time,” said Holmes. “You know, you have a vehicle parked on the roadway, and within a matter of minutes, there’s water between you and your vehicle. It’s very difficult to manage that situation.”
The forecast eases over the weekend, with more storms expected this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.
