NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Heavy rain, pounding surf and flash floods hit parts of the Florida Panhandle and the Alabama coast on Tuesday as Hurricane Sally lumbered toward land at a painfully slow pace, threatening as much as 30 inches of rain and dangerous, historic flooding.

The storm's center churned offshore 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Mobile, Alabama, as Sally crept northward toward an expected Wednesday landfall at 2 mph (3 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane force winds extended 40 miles (65 kilometers). Rain fell sideways and rain began covering roads in...