A tropical depression is expected to form in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, with the potential to become a hurricane by late Friday, the National Hurricane Center says. Forecasters say the storm could bring a storm surge and heavy rains to Louisiana.
If it forms as expected, the storm would be labeled Tropical Storm Barry. It could bring a storm surge of 3-6 feet to a coastal area that is already struggling to cope with massive amounts of floodwaters that have gorged the Mississippi River in recent weeks.
The tropical storm warning comes one day after New Orleans suffered "widespread street flooding and power outages" due to strong storms, as member station WWNO reported.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency for his entire state, warning, "No one should take this storm lightly. As we know all too well in Louisiana, low intensity does not necessarily mean low impact."
The system is currently some 115 miles south-southeast of the Mississippi River's mouth in Louisiana. On Thursday morning, its maximum winds were only 35 mph — but the storm is expected to strengthen as it creeps to the west and north.
Louisiana officials have already begun preparations. As member station WWNO reports, LSU is shutting down its campus on Friday and officials are telling residents along the coast to "heed every single warning" about what will is expected to be a dangerous storm.
The last storm named Barry stalled out as a tropical storm in 2013; this one could become a hurricane within 48 hours.
"Hurricane conditions are possible across the north-central Gulf Coast in a couple of days," the National Hurricane Center says.
The center has issued three alerts for the expected storm:
- A Storm Surge Watch from the mouth of the Pearl River at the Louisiana-Mississippi border to Intracoastal City, south of Lafayette;
- A Hurricane Watch from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron, La., near the Texas border;
- A Tropical Storm Watch from the mouth of the Mississippi River northward to the Mouth of the Pearl River.
Forecasters say the system likely will drop more than a foot of rain in some areas, predicting "accumulations of 10 to 15 inches near and inland of the central Gulf Coast through early next week, with isolated maximum rainfall amounts of 20 inches."
In addition, the hurricane center says that "a tornado or two are possible tonight and Friday across southern portions of Louisiana and Mississippi."
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