5 Dead as Gordon's Remnant Causes Flooding in South, Midwest and East

Rainfall from what was once Tropical Storm Gordon has spread across parts of the South, Midwest and East, triggering flooding that killed at least five people.

Two-year-old Zaryanna Dillian died when a tree limb fell on her home in Escambia County as Gordon tore through the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday. First responders worked through the night with chainsaws trying to remove the girl from the damaged mobile home.

On Friday, a Missouri sheriff's deputy died after his patrol car was swept away by floodwaters, the Associated Press reports. Greene County Deputy Aaron Paul Roberts, 35, reportedly radioed in that his car had been washed off the road into the Pomme de Terre River in Fair Grove, about 180 miles southwest of St. Louis. His body was found in the vehicle a short time later.

In Texas, a woman in her 20s and her 2-year-old child drowned Saturday after their vehicle was swept into a flooded culvert in Fort Worth, the Associated Press reports.  

Flash flooding struck Louisville, Kentucky, Saturday night. One man was killed after driving his vehicle into floodwaters, according to a National Weather Service report.

Sunday afternoon, rescuers in Morehead, Kentucky, were searching for a boy who had been swept into a culvert by flood waters, WKYT reported. Reports said several cars, including police cruisers, were submerged when water poured over roadways.

Montgomery County Emergency Management said several roads there were flooded and a water rescue was necessary.

Tropical Storm Gordon and Flood Reports Recap

Advisories were initiated on Potential Tropical Cyclone Seven on Sept. 2, a type of advisory the National Hurricane Center uses to issue watches and warnings with more lead time on tropical disturbances expected to eventually develop into tropical cyclones. 

In this case, tropical storm watches were first issued for the northern Gulf Coast a full two days ahead of the arrival of tropical-storm-force winds (39-plus mph).

South Florida

On Labor Day morning, Sept. 3, Tropical Storm Gordon formed near Florida's upper Keys based on surface-wind observations and Doppler radar data from South Florida.

Heavy rain pounded portions of South Florida, triggering flash flooding in parts of Miami-Dade County, including Homestead and areas near Miami International Airport.

The center of Gordon even passed near Marco Island on Labor Day, which took a hit from Irma almost one year ago.

An elevated weather station near Key Biscayne measured a 63-mph wind gust, and a 54-mph gust was clocked at an elevated station near Miami Beach. Sustained winds of 45 mph with a gust to 54 mph were observed at an elevated WeatherFlow station near Dania Beach, Florida.

Closer to the ground, a wind gust to 51 mph was reported at Miami's Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Northern Gulf Coast

Gordon made landfall just below hurricane strength late Tuesday night near the Alabama-Mississippi border about 30 miles east of Biloxi.

(NEWS: Water Rescues, Flooding, Power Outages Reported)

A 1-foot inundation was observed on the beaches of Dauphin Island early Tuesday evening from Gordon's storm surge despite being near the time of low tide.

The retreating surge left some roads on the west side side of Dauphin Island covered in 1 to 2 feet of sand. 

The Causeway (U.S. 90/98) across Mobile Bay was closed early Wednesday morning due to flooding.

Five to 11 inches of rain triggered flash flooding in parts of Baldwin and Escambia counties in Alabama, as well as Santa Rosa and Escambia counties in Florida. 

In Alabama, power lines were downed in Grand Bay, near Mobile and in Orange Beach by strong winds. A downed tree crushed a vehicle in Thomasville. Some homes on the west side of Dauphin Island had siding damage. A church steeple was blown off in Romar Beach.

In Mississippi, trees were downed by Gordon's winds in Laurel, Brooklyn and near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. A tree fell onto a home in Ackerman.

A tree fell onto a trailer killing one in West Pensacola, Florida.

An elevated weather station at Fort Morgan, Alabama, reported sustained winds of 68 mph with a gust to 78 mph near the time of Gordon's landfall late Tuesday night.

A Coastal-Marine Automated Network station on the eastern end of Dauphin Island measured a gust to 74 mph Tuesday evening. A wind gust to 61 mph was reported near Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Floodwater entered the library of Wilson Hall Middle School in Grove Hill, Alabama, about 70 miles north-northeast of Mobile on Wednesday morning. Roads were also washed out in Clarke County, Alabama, according to the National Weather Service. 

As of Friday night, rainfall totals over 6 inches have been reported in central and northern Mississippi, with 8.31 inches recorded near Vaiden in north-central Mississippi. Over 4 inches of rainfall has been measured so far in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Spotty flooding was reported on Friday from Texas to New Jersey due to heavy rainfall along the frontal system. 

Ponding water or areas of flooded streets were reported in Midland, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Cincinnati, central Illinois and even very near the White House in D.C. A section of I-295 was closed in both directions near Westville, New Jersey due to flooding. 

Heavy rain fell across parts of central Illinois Friday afternoon, with some reports of more than 6 inches of rainfall near Springfield and Peoria.