A slow-moving thunderstorm moved over southern Lauderdale County into northern Colbert County Saturday afternoon, dumping heavy rain over the city of Florence as well as Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia.
The National Weather Service in Huntsville reports that as much as 1.63 inches of rain fell in Florence, with about 2.41 inches of rain at a reporting station nearby. A weather reporting station to the northwest of the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals reported 2.36 inches of rain, which feel between 1:30pm to 2:30pm.
Residents in Sheffield sent photos and videos of the piling floodwaters in the region.
Wayne Flannagin of Sheffield said, “We have very poor drainage systems in our neighborhood. We’ve spoken with the city and nothing has been done yet. This is Frey Ave…one street over. The Rain rushes over from Frey to our street on Shoals. Our street is where most of rain /water winds up.”
About two miles to the south, the Chick-fil-A restaurant located on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals experienced floodwaters in its parking lot. This area is known for flooding whenever heavy rain occurs, due to poor storm water drainage in the area.
The @ChickfilA in #MuscleShoals is #flooded… Again… A heavy downpour dumped 1.5" to 2.5" in the #Shoals and #Florence area. Photo courtesy of Chris Hammond, who says, "Avalon Ave in Muscle Shoals water overflowing drainage ditch in front of Chick-fil-A" #valleywx #ALwx @whnt pic.twitter.com/LQBsZUjS6p
— Christina Edwards (@ChristinaWHNTwx) July 14, 2018