4 motorists rescued, roads closed in drenched southern Morgan County

Mar. 19—A Falkville woman who clung to a tree after floodwaters swept her car off the road was one of four motorists rescued after storms Wednesday dumped up to 4 1/2 inches of rain in southern Morgan County and forced numerous road closings.

Morgan County Schools planned to hold remote learning again today because road conditions were expected to remain hazardous. The Alabama Department of Transportation had to close a stretch of Alabama 36 on Thursday afternoon because of rising floodwaters from Cotaco Creek.

Morgan County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mike Swafford said the Falkville woman was hanging on to a tree when rescuers found her off of Wilhite Road in the Lacon community, east of U.S. 31 near the Morgan-Cullman county line.

Charles Porter, water operations captain of the Morgan County Rescue Squad, said the woman, believed to be in her 30s, was returning from Cullman County when she tried to drive across a bridge over a creek on Wilhite in her Honda at about 9:15 p.m.

"The water was so deep and so fast it washed her vehicle off the road and down the creek about 100 to 200 yards," Porter said.

He said the Morgan Rescue Squad and Falkville Fire and Rescue units arrived about 9:30 p.m. and had to locate the woman amid rain, howling wind, darkness and engine noise from a train stalled on a washed-out track.

"She was screaming, and it was kind of like a game of tag," he said. "It was a daunting task to pinpoint the exact spot where her voice was coming from. We were walking in chest-deep water in the dark trying to find her. When we finally located her, we launched our inflatable raft and paddled to her. She had been washed into the woods, not too far from her car."

He said she was hugging a tree and was able to climb into the raft with a little help. It was about 11:45 p.m. before she was on dry ground, he said. The woman was transported to Cullman Regional Hospital for observation, Swafford said.

"She had no apparent injuries, but exposure in the water," he said.

Porter said two other motorists were rescued along East Lacon Road and Old U.S. 31 Wednesday night. "We found four vehicles along the roads that were disabled but not occupied," he said.

On Thursday afternoon, the Morgan County Rescue Squad and Falkville Fire and Rescue performed another water rescue of a motorist trapped by floodwaters along Huckabee Bridge Road in Falkville, according to Danny Kelso, chief of the county rescue squad.

Porter warned motorists not to attempt to drive through swift water.

"If the roadway is flooded, don't try to cross it," he said. "It doesn't take a lot of moving water to wash a car away." — Roads closed

The Alabama 36 closure was in both directions between Herman Bailey Road and Collins Hill Road. The portion is 2 1/2 miles east of Alabama 67, according to ALDOT spokesman Seth Burkett.

He was unsure when the highway might reopen and he urged motorists to avoid the area. He said motorists can check algotraffic.com to check if Alabama 36 has reopened.

The National Weather Service said most of the Tennessee Valley received between 2 and 3 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 25 mph Wednesday night but parts of southern Morgan County received a heavier drenching.

Alabama 67, Eva Road, Hogan Road near Alabama 157 and Lawrence County 150 near Lawrence County 314 all had trees blocking traffic at one time Wednesday, according to authorities.

Morgan County Schools originally planned to delay the start of classes by two hours Thursday but later decided to use virtual-only instruction, which will now continue today.

Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corp. spokesman Mike Cornelison said two trees fell on power lines and left about 300 homes without power for about three hours Wednesday night. He said some neighborhoods in Priceville and Valhermoso Springs were mostly impacted when the fallen trees snapped two poles.

"We had a few other scattered outages, but power was restored by 10 p.m.," he said.

Decatur Utilities reported no outages, according to DU spokesman Joe Holmes.

Courtland Mayor Linda Peebles said the town is monitoring Big Nance Creek, which could cause minor flooding in town sometime today.

Thursday afternoon, Big Nance was at 11.71 feet and is expected to crest at 14 feet at noon today, according to the weather service. Flood stage is 14 feet. — No tornadoes

Emergency Management Agency officials said most, if not all, of the community shelters were occupied Wednesday night.

"We're very thankful the way the air masses were developing that we didn't get worse weather," Morgan County EMA Director Brandy Davis said. "We were prepared for a lot worse."

Weather service meteorologist Jessica Chace said Lawrence, Limestone and Morgan counties had no reports of tornadoes.

"It turned into a flash-flood kind of event," she said. "We were expecting more activity than we got. The warm front coming up stayed to our south. Cullman County had some tornadoes, but the front didn't make it this far up."

She said today's weather should be mostly clear with temperatures in the low 50s. "Saturday and Sunday will be clear with highs in the 60s with low humidity," she said.

Chace said rain chances increase in the middle of next week.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.