Flood warnings were issued along the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida into Mississippi as heavy rain Monday threatened a repeat of weekend rain and storms that damaged homes, cut electricity, and created at least one tornado in Alabama. A Mississippi man drowned off Florida's Pensacola Beach, and other swimmers were ordered out of rough surf amid heavy rain that caused widespread flooding over the weekend, officials said. The Pensacola News Journal reported that the storms forced the evacuation of a 200-unit apartment complex, and many residents found severe flood damage when they returned Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service (NWS) said strong currents from the storms were a danger along the coast, and locally heavy rain could cause more flooding through Monday afternoon. A tornado connected to the weekend storm system uprooted trees and destroyed chicken facilities Sunday in southeastern Alabama, where emergency officials said a few homes were damaged but no injuries were reported. Rain on Sunday could have been heavier, following Saturday's record rainfall. After receiving more than 32.5 centimeters on Saturday, Pensacola only saw another 4.8 centimeters on rain Sunday. Mobile, Alabama received 14.5 centimeters on Saturday and another 7 centimeters Sunday, the NWS said. Forecasters initially feared that an additional 10 to 20 centimeters would fall Sunday along the coast, but the storm system pushed most precipitation farther inland, meteorologists said.
