Hurricane Sally slams Alabama 16 years to the day after Hurricane Ivan

Ivan and Sally 2

Hurricanes Ivan, left, and Sally made landfall in Alabama on Sept. 16 -- 16 years apart. Before Sally, Ivan was the last hurricane to directly strike Alabama.

Hurricane Sally made landfall at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday — Sept. 16, 2020 — at Gulf Shores as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds.

Alabama has had to deal with many storms over the years, but Sally is the first hurricane to make a direct hit on Alabama’s coastline since Hurricane Ivan.

And Sally hit Alabama on the exact same day as Ivan, 16 years apart.

Ivan was a Category 3 hurricane that made landfall just west of Gulf Shores at 1:50 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2004.

Ivan had top winds of 120 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Mobile, as well as a considerable storm surge.

Ivan did substantial damage in Baldwin County as well as northwest Florida.

Many damage reports are filtering in from some of those same areas on Wednesday morning from Sally.

Ivan was blamed for eight deaths in Florida, and damage at the time was estimated at $14 billion, according to the weather service.

Ivan may have had higher winds, but Sally may come out on top when it comes to rain.

The National Weather Service in Mobile has gotten several reports of 20-plus inches of rain from Sally, and the rain was still coming down hard as of Wednesday morning.

Ivan’s top rain total was 15.79 inches in Pensacola, Fla. Mobile also got 9.9 inches, according to the weather service.

Read more about Hurricane Ivan here.

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