May 19, 2009 - Orange Beach, AL - The storm system that passed through our
area on Sunday May 17, 2009 caused a lot of problems along the northern Gulf Coast. While only
sprinkles of light rain was seen in Orange
Beach, water-born tornados (waterspouts) popped up in Mobile Bay near
Fairhope, boats
were capsized in the Gulf, and heavy downpours caused sewage spills in
Foley. Mike Henriksen, a Custom Home Builder who lives in Fairhope, spotted the
waterspout and videotaped the event from his front porch (see video
below). The
waterspout started southwest of Mike's home and went ashore just north
of him.
Video still of Waterspout on Mobile Bay
As a result of the heavy downpours produced by this system, an estimated
25,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Wolf Creek in Foley and another
2,000 gallons was spilled into the Bon Secour River. People are
being warned to thoroughly cook any seafood caught in these areas and to
wash their hands with soap after handling the seafood. Because the spill
occurred in a flowing river and creek, the contamination should quickly
disperse. This same storm system caused major problems for boaters and the
Coast Guard along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where twenty boaters had
to be rescued from flipped and sinking boats. One Mississippi boater is still missing and the search is ongoing. The Orange Beach Bubble Once again it seems that Orange Beach is in a bubble
when it comes to these weather systems. Many times when storms
move through the area they break up just prior to reaching Orange Beach,
while to the north and south of Orange Beach these systems hold
together. Note the water features around Orange Beach on the map below.
Some people believe that the reason storm systems break up just prior to
reaching the Orange Beach Bubble is because of the inland
waters around Orange Beach. To date, no scientific studies have
been done on this strange weather phenomena known locally at the
Orange Beach Bubble, at least not yet. Perhaps some
meteorologist will read this article and try to figure out what causes
so many of the storm systems along the northern Gulf Coast to break up
when they approach Orange Beach.
The Orange Beach Bubble's Still In Tact
