2012: Gulf Coast extreme weather recap

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - MAY 2 (RAIN)

After a few relatively quiet months we got our first taste of extreme weather on May 2. Twelve hours of heavy rain caused considerable flooding, especially in and around Mobile County where nearly seven inches of rain fell.

"You can actually see the ripples in the current showing up in this person's front yard," Meteorologist Michael White said as he showed a picture.

JUNE 9 (SERIOUS FLOODING)

But that event was just an appetizer. A month later in mid-June the bottom fell out. Some spots received over twenty inches of rain. The flooding was widespread and severe impacting lives and destroying property.

"That den area I built with my own two hands," A man whose home flooded said. "And to see stuff like that destroyed that you built for your family. It's hard."

AUGUST 28 (HURRICANE ISAAC)    

And then there was hurricane season. Shelters opened and evacuations were called as Hurricane Isaac approached in August. Isaac had 80 mile per hour winds and was creeping along at just eight miles per hour when it made landfall in Louisiana.

"It's slowing down. The slower it moves the greater the impact will be on our area," Chief Meteorologist Jason Smith said.

Isaac didn't do much damage with it's winds, but coastal areas got a significant storm surge. Parts of Dauphin Island were a mess. Still though, if Isaac had been the worst it would have been a good year, but 2012 ended with a bang.

DECEMBER 20 (TORNADO #1)

In the wee hours of December 20 a severe storm spun up an EF1 tornado with winds of 110 miles per hour. 
The twister cut a seven mile path through the heart of Mobile, from I-65 through midtown and into Prichard, damaging businesses and homes but miraculously sparing lives.

DECEMBER 25 (TORNADO #2)

And then the unimaginable happened. Just five days later on Christmas day another tornado in the heart of Mobile. The paths between the two twisters measured in blocks not miles. This twister was an EF2 with winds up to 137 miles per hour.

With the National Weather Service feeding information, the Fox10 News crew tracked the tornado from it's inception, caught it on camera, and followed it's path of destruction. The timely warnings likely saved lives as once again there was much destruction, but no deaths.

Two twisters in five days in the same city is not a one in a million occurrence; the chances are far lower than that. Simply incredible, but for all the destructive power that mother nature unleashed on our area in 2012, people stayed informed and they stayed safe. Here's to hoping whatever 2013 serves up we weather it just as well.