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'Do not drop your guard': Tropical Storm Barry threatens heavy rain after landfall 'Do not drop your guard': Tropical Storm Barry threatens heavy rain after landfall
(32 minutes later)
Carrying “off the chart” amounts of moisture, Hurricane Barry crawled ashore on Saturday in Louisiana and quickly weakened back to a tropical storm that promised heavy rains that could last for days and test flood-prevention systems built after Hurricane Katrina. Carrying “off the chart” amounts of moisture, Barry crawled ashore on Saturday in Louisiana at hurricane strength. It quickly weakened back to a tropical storm but it promised heavy rains that could last for days, testing flood-prevention systems built after Hurricane Katrina.
The storm made landfall near Intracoastal City, about 160 miles west of New Orleans, and its winds fell to 70mph, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Officials warned that the storm could still cause disastrous flooding across a wide stretch of the Gulf coast.
Forecasters encouraged residents in New Orleans to be patient and stay vigilant, after Saturday morning saw a few rays of sun peeking on to mostly dry streets. “This is just the beginning,” the Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, said. “It’s going to be a long several days for our state.”
“We are sensing a great deal of impatience with the onset of impacts from Tropical Storm Barry,” said the New Orleans office of National Weather Service in a tweet early on Saturday. “Plenty of very heavy rainfall parked off the coast to move through the area throughout the day Saturday into Sunday. Be patient and DO NOT drop your guard.” The US Coast Guard rescued more than a dozen people from the remote Isle de Jean Charles, south of New Orleans, where water rose so high that some clung to rooftops.
The NHC later said the storm became a category one hurricane before weakening back to a tropical storm. Forecasters warned that Barry’s glacial pace would give it time to gather moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, potentially intensifying the rainfall to come. The storm’s flood potential, rather than its high winds, posed the greatest danger to New Orleans, a city virtually surrounded by rising waters.
Weather models suggested Barry could dump between 10in and 20in of rain over south-central and south-east Louisiana and south-west Mississippi. In a statement on Saturday morning, the Weather Forecast Center said the area should “expect some pretty impressive rainfall rates … with some values likely exceeding 3in in an hour”. Authorities were keeping a watchful eye on the levee system built to contain the lower Mississippi, which winds through the heart of the city and is already well above flood stage from months of heavy rainfall over the midwest.
On Saturday officials said Barry was unlikely to push the Mississippi over the levees. A US army corps of engineers official, Mark Wingate, noted that the river was at 16.6ft (5 meters) and was predicted to rise to about 17ft, down from the previously anticipated 20ft. Wingate said all canal locks were in good shape.
Elsewhere, video showed water overtopping a levee in Plaquemines parish south of New Orleans, where fingers of land extend deep into the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm made landfall near Intracoastal City, about 160 miles west of New Orleans, and its winds fell to 70mph, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Forecasters encouraged residents in New Orleans to be patient and stay vigilant.
“We are sensing a great deal of impatience with the onset of impacts from Tropical Storm Barry,” said the New Orleans office of the National Weather Service (NWS) early on Saturday. “Plenty of very heavy rainfall parked off the coast to move through the area throughout the day Saturday into Sunday. Be patient and DO NOT drop your guard.”
Forecasters warned that Barry’s glacial pace would give it time to gather moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, potentially intensifying rainfall. Weather models suggested it could dump between 10in and 20in over south-central and south-east Louisiana and south-west Mississippi.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the Weather Forecast Center said the area should “expect some pretty impressive rainfall rates … with some values likely exceeding 3in in an hour”.
Experts also warned that because of the erratic and lopsided shape of the storm, its most intense bands of torrential rain may not occur until well after landfall.Experts also warned that because of the erratic and lopsided shape of the storm, its most intense bands of torrential rain may not occur until well after landfall.
Downpours also lashed coastal Alabama and Mississippi. Parts of Dauphin Island, a barrier island in Alabama, were flooded by rain and surging water from the Gulf, said Mayor Jeff Collier, who was driving around in a Humvee to survey damage. He said the island still had power and wind damage was minimal.
Flooding closed some roads in low-lying areas of Mobile county in Alabama and heavy rains contributed to a number of accidents, said John Kilcullen, director of plans and operations for Mobile county emergency management agency. The NWS issued a flash flood warning for much of the two coastal Alabama counties.
Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, for the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019. While New Orleans authorities refrained from ordering evacuations, tourism officials reported an exodus of hotel guests on Friday. Airlines including British Airways, Delta and Spirit cancelled outbound flights from the city.Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, for the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019. While New Orleans authorities refrained from ordering evacuations, tourism officials reported an exodus of hotel guests on Friday. Airlines including British Airways, Delta and Spirit cancelled outbound flights from the city.
A performance scheduled for Sunday by the Rolling Stones at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which served as an emergency shelter during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was postponed until Monday. A performance scheduled for Sunday by the Rolling Stones at the Superdome, which was an emergency shelter during Katrina in 2005, was postponed until Monday. Katrina inundated much of the city and killed about 1,800 people.
Most residents elected to stay and ride the storm out. Officials urged them to secure their homes, stock up on supplies and prepare to stay indoors. Bread and water aisles at several local supermarkets were picked clean by Friday. Most residents elected to stay. Officials urged them to secure their homes, stock up on supplies and prepare to stay indoors. Bread and water aisles at several local supermarkets were picked clean by Friday.
The storm was widely expected to be a test of flood defences put in place following Katrina, which inundated much of the city and killed about 1,800 people. A number of coastal areas without sufficient protection were evacuated. Nearly 50,000 people were without power, according to utility provider Entergy. A number of coastal areas without sufficient protection were evacuated. Nearly 50,000 people lost power, according to utility provider Entergy.
The storm’s flood potential, rather than its high winds, posed the greatest danger to New Orleans, a city virtually surrounded by rising waters. Oil and gas operators evacuated hundreds of platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly 70% of Gulf oil production and 56% of gas production was turned off, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Authorities were keeping a particularly watchful eye on the levee system built to contain the lower Mississippi, which winds through the heart of New Orleans and is already well above flood stage from months of heavy rainfall over the midwest.
On Saturday afternoon officials said Barry was unlikely to push the Mississippi over the levees. US Army Corps of Engineers official Mark Wingate told reporters on a conference call officials saw concerns at all about overtopping the Mississippi river levees”.
He noted that the river was at 16.6ft (5m) and was predicted to rise to about 17ft (5.2m), down from the previously anticipated level of about 20ft (6m). Wingate also said all of the city’s canal locks were in good shape.
LaToya Cantrell, the New Orleans mayor, said 48 hours of heavy downpours could still overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water.LaToya Cantrell, the New Orleans mayor, said 48 hours of heavy downpours could still overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water.
“There is no system in the world that can handle that amount of rainfall in such a short period,” Cantrell said on Twitter.“There is no system in the world that can handle that amount of rainfall in such a short period,” Cantrell said on Twitter.
New Orleans was already saturated after thunderstorms dropped a foot of rain on Wednesday.New Orleans was already saturated after thunderstorms dropped a foot of rain on Wednesday.
Louisiana’s governor, John Bel Edwards, told a news conference the storm was just beginning and the state faced significant threats.
Early on Saturday authorities said water was flowing over the tops of a few levees in areas south of the city. Officials said the levees were in lower Plaquemines parish and were not the main levees protecting the Mississippi.
The US Coast Guard said it was rescuing more than a dozen people stranded on a remote island. Petty Officer Lexie Preston said some people were on rooftops on the Isle de Jean Charles, about 45 miles south of New Orleans. Preston said four people and a cat had been taken out on a helicopter. She said a boat was also heading to the area. She did not know the condition of those rescued.
The island is the home of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe and is part of the southern Louisiana bayous threatened by rising sea levels.
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