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Tropical Storm Barry picks up power as it bears down on Louisiana Tropical Storm Barry picks up power as it bears down on Louisiana
(about 2 hours later)
Tropical Storm Barry was strengthening as it approached the Louisiana coast on Saturday.Tropical Storm Barry was strengthening as it approached the Louisiana coast on Saturday.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 8am advisory the storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased 5mph to 70mph, with higher gusts. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an 8am advisory maximum sustained winds had increased 5mph to 70mph, with higher gusts.
Barry was expected to reach hurricane strength by the time its center reached the Louisiana coast, expected before noon local time. The storm is expected to weaken after it moves inland. Barry was expected to reach hurricane strength by the time its center reached the Louisiana coast, expected before noon local time. The storm was expected to weaken after it moved inland.
The storm was moving north-west at about 5mph, and a turn to the north was expected late Saturday or early Sunday. NHC director Ken Graham said Barry was gathering “a big slough of moisture” just off the central Louisiana coast, meaning “a lot of rain is on the way”.
Weather forecasters said Barry could dump between 10in and 20in of rain over south-central and south-east Louisiana and south-west Mississippi. Graham delivered a storm update using Facebook Live from the NHC, pointing to a screen showing a big swirling mess of airborne water.
Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, for the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019. “That is just an amazing amount of moisture,” he said. “That is off the chart.”
Nearly 50,000 people were without power. City officials warned New Orleans residents to secure their homes, stock up on supplies and prepare to stay indoors. He said the storm was moving so slowly that heavy rain will likely continue throughout the weekend across Louisiana. The highest tornado threat was on the east side of the storm, along the Mississippi coast and Mobile Bay.
Barry’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 65mph as it churned through the northern Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana. Meteorologists warned torrential rains – as much as 0.6m (2ft) in some places – were likely to cause severe flooding. Graham also said the already swollen Mississippi was not the only waterway to worry about: other rivers and creeks are expected to overflow across several states.
While New Orleans authorities refrained from ordering evacuations, tourism officials reported an exodus of hotel guests checking out early on Friday. Some airlines, including British Airways, cancelled outbound flights from the city on Saturday. Graham reminded viewers that “83% of fatalities from these systems have been from inland rain. So let’s stay off the roads. Let’s prevent these preventable fatalities.” 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.
Mandatory evacuations were imposed in flood-prone coastal areas of two neighbouring parishes south of the city. Preston said four people and a cat had been taken from the island on a helicopter. She said a boat was also heading to the area. She did not know the condition of those rescued.
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. Terrebonne Parrish placed the island under a voluntary evacuation and the only two-lane road to it was cut off by floodwaters. 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.
The impending storm was widely seen as a key test of the fortified flood defences put in place following Katrina, which inundated much of the city and killed about 1,800 people. The storm was moving north-west at about 5mph and a turn to the north was expected late on Saturday or early on Sunday. Forecasters said Barry could dump between 10in and 20in of rain over south-central and south-east Louisiana and south-west Mississippi.
Barry is expected to cross the coastline south-west of New Orleans on Saturday morning. It is forecast to reach category one hurricane strength by then, with winds of at least 74mph, the National Weather Service said. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 65mph as Barry churned through the northern Gulf of Mexico. Mandatory evacuations were imposed in flood-prone coastal areas of two neighbouring parishes south of New Orleans. Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana, for the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.
The storm’s flood potential, rather than its high winds, posed the greatest danger to low-lying New Orleans, a city virtually surrounded on all sides by rising waters. Nearly 50,000 people were without power on Saturday morning. City officials warned New Orleans residents to secure their homes, stock up on supplies and prepare to stay indoors. While authorities refrained from ordering evacuations, tourism officials reported an exodus of hotel guests. Some airlines, including British Airways, cancelled outbound flights on Saturday.
A performance scheduled for Sunday by the Rolling Stones at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which was an emergency shelter during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was postponed until Monday.
The storm was widely seen as a key test of flood defences put in place after Katrina, which inundated much of the city and killed about 1,800 people. New Orleans is virtually surrounded by rising waters.
Benjamin Schott, a meteorologist, said: “Tropical Storm Barry is a dangerous and life-threatening storm.”Benjamin Schott, a meteorologist, said: “Tropical Storm Barry is a dangerous and life-threatening storm.”
Authorities were keeping a particularly watchful eye on the levee system built to contain the lower Mississippi River, which winds through the heart of New Orleans and was already well above flood stage from months of heavy upstream rainfall over the midwest. Authorities were keeping a particularly watchful eye on the levee system built to contain the lower Mississippi, which winds through New Orleans and was already well above flood stage from months of heavy upstream rainfall over the midwest.
A coastal storm surge into the mouth of the Mississippi is expected to push its crest to 5.8 metres in New Orleans, the highest level since 1950 and dangerously close to the top of the city’s levees.A coastal storm surge into the mouth of the Mississippi is expected to push its crest to 5.8 metres in New Orleans, the highest level since 1950 and dangerously close to the top of the city’s levees.
The brunt of Barry was expected to skirt the western edge of New Orleans, avoiding a direct hit. But LaToya Cantrell, the city’s mayor, said 48 hours of heavy downpours could overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water. LaToya Cantrell, the city’s mayor, said 48 hours of heavy downpours could 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 drenched the city with a foot of rain on Wednesday.New Orleans was already saturated after thunderstorms drenched the city with a foot of rain on Wednesday.
Robert Harris, sitting on a sidewalk and polishing his trombone, said: “If it’s worse than the other day, it’d be the worst week since Katrina.”Robert Harris, sitting on a sidewalk and polishing his trombone, said: “If it’s worse than the other day, it’d be the worst week since Katrina.”
LouisianaLouisiana
US weatherUS weather
New OrleansNew Orleans
Extreme weatherExtreme weather
Natural disasters and extreme weatherNatural disasters and extreme weather
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