Hurricane Sally threatens historic floods

Hurricane Sally bears down on the coast on Tuesday afternoon (NOAA via AP)

Hurricane Sally strengthened to a Category 2 system with 100 mile-an-hour winds and heavy rain as it bore down on the US Gulf Coast early on Wednesday.

Forecasters warned of “historical flooding” as the storm inched north-northwest towards the coast at around two miles per hour, with the National Hurricane Centre’s forecast map showing its centre as likely to make landfall on Wednesday morning in Alabama, near the Florida border.