Between 10 and 15 inches of rain fell along the northern Gulf Coast in less than 24 hours yesterday, resulting in catastrophic flash flooding in cities along Interstate 10 from Mobile, Alabama to Pensacola, Florida. The National Weather Service issued a "flash flood emergency" for much of the area as both waterways and infrastructure were overwhelmed by the copious amounts of rain.

The flash flooding led to at least two deaths in the Florida Panhandle and over a dozen water rescues in Mobile alone.

However, the prolific thunderstorms on the Gulf Coast provided enough stable air across the rest of the Deep South to stifle instability, preventing what could have been a third consecutive day with a violent tornado outbreak.

Twitter lit up last night with pictures of the flooding across the region.

[Image via NASA]