By comparison, Category 5 Hurricane Andrew was tiny, reaching a peak diameter of only about 200 miles before it devastated south Florida in 1992. Sallyâs winds had been holding at 80 mph most of the day. Hurricane Sally inched its way over the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall Wednesday morning. The hurricane center said Sally ⦠Hurricane Sally made landfall as a Category 2 storm near the city of Gulf Shores, Alabama, at 4:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Hurricane Sally continued to crawl toward the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds. Hurricane Sally caught many people off-guard. Gusts of wind exceeded 100 mph. Hurricane Frances in 2004 was a Category 2 hurricane when it hit the west coast of Florida. On Sept. 11, 2020, it was a tropical depression off the southern coast of Florida, one day later, it ⦠The storm then drifted northeast, dumping more than 2 feet of rain in areas between Mobile, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. Category 3 hurricane: Devastating damage will occur In a Category 3 hurricane⦠Hurricane Sally was a catastrophic and devastating Category 5 hurricane that struck Florida, Mexico, and California on a long-lived and erratic track, causing major flooding and humanitarian crises to those areas. Sally has weakened since making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday morning but its devastating toll was visible across Southern states by nightfall. The center of Sally is expected to move near the southeastern Louisiana coast Monday night and make landfall on the Gulf Coast late on Tuesday, possibly as a Category 3 hurricane⦠Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores, Ala., as a Category 2 hurricane and moved through the Florida Panhandle, bringing flooding even as it weakened to a tropical depression. As Sally made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane near Gulf Shores, Ala., at 5:45 a.m., fierce winds cut power to more than 500,000 customers in Alabama and Florida. PENSACOLA, Fla. â After Hurricane Sally drenched Alabama and Florida with more than 2 feet of rain in some areas, local officials say the storm caused at least $29 million of damage in ⦠The hurricane center said in its latest advisory that Sally's outer rain bands are moving onshore in the Florida panhandle.