A major heavy rainfall event across the northern Gulf Coast on Monday night dumped over seven inches of rain in just a couple of hours in the town of Fairhope, Alabama, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.

The intense rainfall was a result of thunderstorm training, which occurs when heavy thunderstorms repeatedly move one after the other over the same area for an extended period of time.

The radar image above showed the heavy rain as it moved out of the area around 900PM CDT, with Fairhope located underneath the 7" badge towards the center of the screen.

Elsewhere across the Deep South, 4-6 inches of rain have fallen over the past 24 hours in parts of Mississippi and Alabama, pushing rainfall totals far above average for April so far.

Here are some of the year-to-date rainfall totals across the Deep South as of 5PM yesterday.

  • Jackson, Mississippi recorded 21.74" of rain since January 1, leaving the city 4.5" above average so far this year.
  • Tuscaloosa, Alabama recorded 18.04" of rain since the beginning of the year, putting it just under an inch above average so far in 2014.
  • Vicksburg, Mississippi received 23.39" of rain between January 1 and April 14, putting it almost 6" above average so far this year.
  • Mobile, Alabama measured 15.62" of rain so far this year, putting it almost 4" below average. This total does not reflect the heavy rain that fell after 5PM, which should more than halve the rainfall deficit.

The area will see a break in the bad weather over the next couple of days as cold, dry air sets in behind the cold front. Warmer air moves into the Deep South by the end of the week, bringing in the next chance for heavy rain and thunderstorms.

[Images via USA Mesonet / Gibson Ridge]