Tropical Storm Cindy dumped 5 inches of rain on the area prompting Alabama Power to open the floodgates at Martin Dam, and with a hurricane following close in Cindy’s tracks, more could be opened in the next few days.

Hurricane Dennis, which was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane Thursday afternoon, is expected to make landfall sometime Sunday afternoon and could reach this area by early evening that same day, according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham.