Public paper · October 5, 2026 · Coffee and Dale counties, Alabama
Flash Flood Warning for Coffee and Dale Counties, Alabama, Until 4:15 a.m. CDT
Heavy rain is causing flash flooding in central Coffee County and northwestern Dale County, Alabama. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued a Flash Flood Warning at 1:20 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. That is 11:20 p.m. Pacific on Sunday. It lasts until 4:15 a.m. CDT Monday, which is 2:15 a.m. Pacific. Elba, Enterprise, Ozark, Fort Rucker, New Brockton and Ariton are named. Radar showed 1 to 3 inches of rain already fallen, with up to 2 inches more possible. Do not drive on flooded roads. Turn around, don’t drown. Be extra careful in the dark.
Incident history
Update · Oct. 5, 2026 · 1:20 a.m. CDT
Flash Flood Warning issued
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued a Flash Flood Warning at 1:20 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, for central Coffee County and northwestern Dale County in Alabama, until 4:15 a.m. CDT Monday. Doppler radar showed thunderstorms producing heavy rain. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain had fallen, and up to 2 inches more are possible. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. The statement names Elba, Enterprise, Ozark, Fort Rucker, New Brockton, and Ariton. Life-threatening flash flooding of creeks, streams, streets, highways, and underpasses. Do not drive through floodwater. Be especially careful at night.
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL Flash Flood Warning FFWTAE, issued 1:20 a.m. CDT on Oct. 5, 2026. Office post https://x.com/NWSTallahassee/status/2106993166784032873. Paper https://noticenearby.com/papers/flash-flood-warning-coffee-dale-counties-al-oct-5-2026
noticenearby.com/papers/flash-flood-warning-coffee-dale-counties-al-oct-5-2026.pdf
Heavy rain is causing flash flooding in southeast Alabama. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Florida, issued a Flash Flood Warning at 1:20 a.m. CDT on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. That is 11:20 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, Oct. 4. It covers central Coffee County and northwestern Dale County. It lasts until 4:15 a.m. CDT on Monday. That end time is 2:15 a.m. Pacific. Elba, Enterprise, Ozark, Fort Rucker, New Brockton, Ariton and Shell Army Field are among the places named. Doppler radar showed thunderstorms with 1 to 3 inches of rain already fallen. Up to 2 more inches is possible. Flash flooding is happening now or will start soon. Creeks, streams, town streets, highways, underpasses and low spots can flood. The warning covers the parts of the two counties listed on the bulletin, not all of Alabama.
What to do: do not drive on flooded roads. Turn around, don’t drown. Most flood deaths happen in vehicles. Six inches of moving water can knock a person down. A foot or two of moving water can float a car. You cannot tell how deep the water is from the driver’s seat. Be especially careful in the dark, when it is harder to see flooding. If you are in a low spot, move to higher ground. If you are trapped, call 911. If you can report flooding safely, tell local emergency services and ask them to pass the report to the National Weather Service. Do not treat 4:15 a.m. CDT as an all-clear until weather.gov says the warning is over.
Source: National Weather Service Tallahassee FL, Flash Flood Warning FFWTAE, issued 1:20 a.m. CDT Oct. 5, 2026 (2:20 a.m. EDT), until 4:15 a.m. CDT Oct. 5, 2026. Live alert: https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.dae85eb57de5a9d406c320f415971b3f8d730eea.001.1. Office text products: https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=tae&wwa=all. Flood safety: https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood. Office post: https://x.com/NWSTallahassee/status/2106993166784032873. County hubs: https://noticenearby.com/al/coffee and https://noticenearby.com/al/dale. If this page and weather.gov disagree, weather.gov wins. Notice Nearby is not the National Weather Service, the sheriff, or the fire department.
The warning, in plain words
The sender is the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee, Florida. That office covers the Wiregrass corner of southeast Alabama. The product on the live alert is FFWTAE. The headline says the Flash Flood Warning was issued Oct. 5 at 2:20 a.m. EDT until Oct. 5 at 5:15 a.m. EDT. Coffee and Dale counties run on Central time, so that is 1:20 a.m. to 4:15 a.m. CDT.
Severity is Severe. Urgency is Immediate. Certainty is Likely. The message type is Alert. The status is Actual. This is a brand-new warning (NEW on the VTEC line). The VTEC string is /O.NEW.KTAE.FF.W.0028.261005T0620Z-261005T0915Z/. The World Meteorological Organization line is WGUS52 KTAE 050620.
The hazard line says flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. The source line says radar indicated.
The impact line names small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, underpasses, and other poor drainage and low-lying areas. Water can cover a road with no warning.
The county codes on the alert are ALC031 for Coffee County and ALC045 for Dale County. The SAME codes are 001031 and 001045. The FIPS codes used on this page are 01031 and 01045. The alert id is urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.dae85eb57de5a9d406c320f415971b3f8d730eea.001.1.
The Weather Service instruction is short: turn around, don’t drown when you come to a flooded road. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.
Which parts of the counties
This is one product for two counties. The bulletin names central Coffee County and northwestern Dale County in southeastern Alabama.
It is not a warning for every county the Tallahassee office covers. Check weather.gov if you live outside those parts of Coffee or Dale counties. A separate Flood Watch is posted for nearby Geneva and Houston counties and much of the Florida Panhandle and south Georgia.
The rain numbers come from the official text. Between 1 and 3 inches have already fallen. Up to 2 more inches is possible in the warned area. That is the Weather Service figure, not a second clock.
This page names the counties and towns only. It does not print a street address or a house number.
Places the warning names
The warning says some places that will see flash flooding include Elba, Fort Rucker, Enterprise, Ozark, New Brockton, Ariton, Lee, Tabernacle, Eanon, Mixons Crossroads, Camp Alaflo BSA, Java, Clintonville, Victoria, Greater Salem Church, Woodland Grove Church, Frisco, Shell Army Field, Roeton and Arcus.
Those twenty names are the only place names copied from the bulletin onto this page. This page does not add towns the warning left out.
If your town is not on the list, you can still be in the warned area. The list is examples, not a fence. Check weather.gov before you decide you are clear.
Fort Rucker soldiers, families and civilian workers: the post and Shell Army Field are inside the warned area tonight. Follow installation alerts and stay off flooded roads before the morning commute.
This page does not print a street address.
Notes and sources
- Source: NWS Tallahassee FL Flash Flood Warning FFWTAE, alert urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.dae85eb57de5a9d406c320f415971b3f8d730eea.001.1, checked live early Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 (just after midnight Pacific). Status Actual. Message type Alert. Not cancelled. If weather.gov updates the clock, weather.gov wins.
- Severity: Severe. Urgency: Immediate. Certainty: Likely. VTEC /O.NEW.KTAE.FF.W.0028.261005T0620Z-261005T0915Z/. Issued 1:20 a.m. CDT Oct. 5 (11:20 p.m. Pacific Oct. 4). Ends 4:15 a.m. CDT Oct. 5 / 2:15 a.m. Pacific Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, unless extended. The paper stays in Papers.
- Rain on the bulletin: 1 to 3 inches already fallen. Up to 2 inches more possible. Radar indicated.
- Places named by the warning only. No street address numbers.
- Office post: https://x.com/NWSTallahassee/status/2106993166784032873.
- Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
- Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Coffee County hub · https://noticenearby.com/al/coffee · Dale County hub · https://noticenearby.com/al/dale · @NoticeNearYou post pending.
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).