Hurricane in Alabama, July 18 to 22, 1997

Hurricane Danny moved inland from the Gulf of Mexico at a snails pace. The center of the storm moved across Fort Morgan and into Mobile Bay during the early morning hours on Saturday. The storm remained nearly stationary over Mobile Bay for eight hours. Danny then creeped east, making landfall at Mullet Point, near Weeks Bay during the afternoon. The storm continued moving slowly east across Baldwin county reaching Orange Beach during the evening. Danny then drifted north along the Alabama and Florida border, weakening to a depression near Walnut Hill Florida late Sunday morning. Danny continued to drift north and passed through and out of Clarke county during the day Monday. Torrential rainfall fell generally along and south of I-10 in Mobile and Baldwin counties and throughout the central and south parts of Choctaw county. The heaviest convection around Danny shifted from the east to the west side of the storm while the center was over Mobile Bay. WSR-88D estimated an incredible 43 inches of storm total rain over the open water in Mobile Bay. Observing sites reported from 30 to 40 inches across the area with Dauphin Island reporting 36.71 inches with 25.98 inches of this falling between 5 PM and midnight on Saturday. Unofficial estimates of 35 to 40 inches of rainfall were reported near the center of Danny as the storm moved across Weeks Bay. As a result of the deluge, numerous roads were inundated and impassable for days. Record flooding caused major damage to homes along the Fowl River in Mobile county and the Fish river in Baldwin county. A gauge site on the Fowl river at Laurendine Road recorded a height of 12.6 feet which is 1.5 times higher than the 100 year flood. At a gauge site on the Fish River near Silverhill a height of 22.8 feet was recorded, making this a 50 year flood event. However, residents who have lived along the lower half of the Fish River for years, said this was the highest they had ever seen the river. One reason for this, was the heaviest rains fell south of the Silverhill gauging site. More than 100 people had to be evacuated from their homes on Sunday as the Fish River overflowed its banks. In Mobile county...Most of the roads on Dauphin Island were covered with more than a foot of water. A CSX railroad trestle was undermined by flooding and collapsed at US HWY 90 and Ramsey Road. In Baldwin county...numerous roads south of US HWY 98 and along roads near the Fish River were inundated and impassable for days. It was estimated that 80 percent of the Alabama public oyster reefs in Mobile county and 60 percent of the reefs in Baldwin county were destroyed and will take approximately 2 years to rebuild. Along the eastern shore, from Fairhope to Spanish Fort, heavy rains caused land slides and a few homes were teetering on the edge of Mobile Bay. One home had to be relocated away from the edge of the Bay to prevent loss. A 300 foot long sediment blockage, standing 6 feet high and 2 feet below the water, marooned up to 350 boats along the eastern shore marina slips. For some of the marinas, the channels had to be redredged before boats could move in and out. On the east end of Dauphin Island, highest wind gusts were reported just over 100 mph with sustained winds of 70 to 80 mph. While inland at Mobile Regional Airport, winds gusted to 45 mph with sustained winds of 35 mph. Wind gusts from Fort Morgan to Orange Beach were estimated at 80 to 100 mph. Most homes and businesses on Dauphin Island and buildings along the western shore of Mobile Bay and homes from Fort Morgan east to Orange Beach sustained some type of roof damage. Many homes in this area, with Gabled roofs, also suffered water damage as persistent winds blew rain into the attic through the vents in the ends of the homes. A multi-story condominium under construction, near Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, collapsed. Numerous pecan and pine trees were blown over in the coastal areas of southwest Alabama with most extensive damage being in Baldwin county from Fairhope to Weeks Bay. It was estimated that 70 percent of the Mobile pecan crop and 60 percent of the Baldwin crop for 1997 was lost. High winds caused a ferry, docked at Fort Gaines, to break away from its moorings on Saturday morning. The runaway ferry destroyed the catwalk from the Dauphin Island weather observation platform. The ferry wandered through the entrance of Mobile Bay coming to rest in a marsh near Gulf Shores. The state docks on the Mobile River recorded a low tide of -2 feet. Most of the water was blown out by the storm Saturday morning for several hours. People observing the bay said they had never seen it so low. Except for the river channels, you could have walked across the bay. A storm surge height of 5 feet was recorded in Dauphin Island Bay. A storm surge of 2.4 feet was recorded along the south shores of Dauphin Island and also near Bayou La Batre with the highest surge being 6.5 feet in Baldwin county along HWY 182, halfway between Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores. Six feet of salt water was inside the historical 163 year old Fort Morgan. Three turn of the century homes, on Fort Morgan, only sustained roof damage. Although Danny was downgraded to a depression Sunday morning at 1000 am, the slow northward movement caused extensive flooding across most of Choctaw county on Monday and Tuesday. Rainfall totals of around 15 inches caused most streams in the county to come out of their banks. The heavy rains also caused extensive flooding of roads, from Lisman to Butler south to near Gilbertown.Except for some damage to the cotton crop in Escambia county Florida, Danny caused very little damage in Northwest Florida. One 41 year old male was killed as a result of the storm. He was on his way to St. Thomas Island in a wooden sailboat with his dog. He was trying to evacuate ahead of Danny when high winds blew him overboard. He was found in the surf, near Gulf Shores. His dog was found roaming the beach several days later and returned to relatives. An elderly male fell victim to the storm, indirectly, suffering a heart attack as he was going to secure his boat in Baldwin county.