Tropical Storm Lee Triggers States Of Emergency Along Gulf
Autarchic
2011/09/03 11:36:10
A slow-moving system in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened Friday to become a tropical storm, as the Big Easy and other Gulf cities prepared for up to 20 inches of rain by unclogging storm drains and upping flood defenses.
"Prepare for the worst, let's hope for the best," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents as he declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi also declared emergencies.
The city has closed flood gates and staged rescue boats ahead of what is expected to be "localized flooding" in some areas over the next five days. New Orleans is also hosting 200,000 visitors attending several conventions this weekend.
Late Friday, Lee, packing sustained winds of 45 mph, was centered 165 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 150 miles southeast of Cameron, La. The storm was picking up speed, moving erratically north at 5 mph, up from just 3 mph earlier in the day. Lee was already massively wide — tropical storm force winds extended up to 200 miles from its center. Lakefront Airport in New Orleans felt a 41 mph gust.
Tropical storm warnings were issued from the Alabama-Florida borer west to Sabine Pass, Texas, including New Orleans. Flash flood warnings were extended along the Alabama coast into the Florida Panhandle. The National Hurricane Center said the system will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama over the next five days and as much as 20 inches in some spots.
"These rains are expected to cause extensive flooding, especially in urban areas," the hurricane center stated.
"Isolated tornadoes are possible tonight over portions of southern Louisiana and extreme southern Mississippi," it added.
The storm was expected to make landfall on the central Louisiana coast late Saturday and turn east toward New Orleans, where it would provide the biggest test of rebuilt levees since Hurricane Gustav struck on Labor Day 2008.
A storm surge of 3 to 5 feet was forecast along the Louisiana coast.
Residents who have survived killer hurricanes such as Betsy, Camille and Katrina didn't expect Lee to live up to that legacy.
"It's a lot of rain. It's nothing, nothing to Katrina," said Malcolm James, 59, a federal investigator in New Orleans who lost his home after levees broke during Katrina in August 2005 and had to be airlifted by helicopter.
"This is mild," he said. "Things could be worse."
Dubbed a "super soaker" by the National Weather Service, rain spread across New Orleans and the rest of southern Louisiana Friday night.
"Wow. This could be a very heavy, prolific rainmaker," said NWS meteorologist Frank Revitte.
About 2 1/2 inches of rain fell Friday in some places on the Gulf Coast, including Boothville, La., and Pascagoula, Miss. In New Orleans, rainfall totals ranged from less than an inch to slightly over 2 inches.
Gusts near 60 mph were reported on oil rigs in the Gulf and National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, asked if Lee could become a hurricane with winds greater than 74 mph, said "I wouldn't rule that out."
The storm earlier prompted oil and gas producers to shut down offshore platforms and evacuate workers, halting about half of the Gulf's oil production and a third of natural gas.
"Prepare for the worst, let's hope for the best," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents as he declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi also declared emergencies.
The city has closed flood gates and staged rescue boats ahead of what is expected to be "localized flooding" in some areas over the next five days. New Orleans is also hosting 200,000 visitors attending several conventions this weekend.
Late Friday, Lee, packing sustained winds of 45 mph, was centered 165 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 150 miles southeast of Cameron, La. The storm was picking up speed, moving erratically north at 5 mph, up from just 3 mph earlier in the day. Lee was already massively wide — tropical storm force winds extended up to 200 miles from its center. Lakefront Airport in New Orleans felt a 41 mph gust.
Tropical storm warnings were issued from the Alabama-Florida borer west to Sabine Pass, Texas, including New Orleans. Flash flood warnings were extended along the Alabama coast into the Florida Panhandle. The National Hurricane Center said the system will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama over the next five days and as much as 20 inches in some spots.
"These rains are expected to cause extensive flooding, especially in urban areas," the hurricane center stated.
"Isolated tornadoes are possible tonight over portions of southern Louisiana and extreme southern Mississippi," it added.
The storm was expected to make landfall on the central Louisiana coast late Saturday and turn east toward New Orleans, where it would provide the biggest test of rebuilt levees since Hurricane Gustav struck on Labor Day 2008.
A storm surge of 3 to 5 feet was forecast along the Louisiana coast.
Residents who have survived killer hurricanes such as Betsy, Camille and Katrina didn't expect Lee to live up to that legacy.
"It's a lot of rain. It's nothing, nothing to Katrina," said Malcolm James, 59, a federal investigator in New Orleans who lost his home after levees broke during Katrina in August 2005 and had to be airlifted by helicopter.
"This is mild," he said. "Things could be worse."
Dubbed a "super soaker" by the National Weather Service, rain spread across New Orleans and the rest of southern Louisiana Friday night.
"Wow. This could be a very heavy, prolific rainmaker," said NWS meteorologist Frank Revitte.
About 2 1/2 inches of rain fell Friday in some places on the Gulf Coast, including Boothville, La., and Pascagoula, Miss. In New Orleans, rainfall totals ranged from less than an inch to slightly over 2 inches.
Gusts near 60 mph were reported on oil rigs in the Gulf and National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, asked if Lee could become a hurricane with winds greater than 74 mph, said "I wouldn't rule that out."
The storm earlier prompted oil and gas producers to shut down offshore platforms and evacuate workers, halting about half of the Gulf's oil production and a third of natural gas.
Read More: http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/Tropical_Storm_...
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- Striker 2011/09/03 20:46:08
+1Way past time to vacate New Orleans. It's that or it's citizens hire Peter to keep his finger in the dike.reply - Jimbo 2011/09/03 16:00:26+1Thank you for your post alerting others. I did similar yesterday. We as Americans should look out for one another.reply
- Bella 2011/09/03 14:12:26+1Their preparedness is a good thing. Slow moving storms can flood areas that typically never flood. I got water up to about 3-4 inches inside my car from a slow moving storm cell on realatively high ground in NO, in an area that doesn't flood. I pulled the car around the corner, 50 feet away and there was no water down the entire street. The cell had stoped moving which can flood land above sea level. A person would be very foolish to think this isn't a potential emergency at any given moment.reply
- tomas 2011/09/03 11:51:35+1It's only a "Tropical Storm" so far, people sure are getting jumpy these days. If it turns into a hurricane, then start worrying.reply
