Tropical Storm Barry spreading across southeast Louisiana, hurricane center says

Jul. 13--Tropical Storm Barry is spreading across portions of Louisiana and is expected to be a hurricane once it makes landfall on Satuday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Intracoastal City and Grand Isle, as Barry's wind speeds strengthen in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the NHC said.

President Donald Trump on Thursday night issued a federal declaration of emergency for Louisiana.

As Barry trudges toward the Louisiana coastline, it has a maximum sustained wind speed of 65 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. advisory Friday. It's expected to become a hurricane before reaching land.

"Strengthening is forecast before landfall, and Barry is expected to be a hurricane when the center reaches the Louisiana coast on Saturday," the center said. "Weakening is expected after Barry moves inland."

The storm was about 120 miles west-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 75 miles south of Morgan City, La.

It's water, rather than wind, where the true threat lies, with south-central and southeast Louisiana facing up to 25 inches of rain, conditions the hurricane center called "life-threatening."

"In the last three years 83 percent of the fatalities in these tropical systems have been inland flooding, and over half of those were in automobiles," center director Ken Graham said.

Several warnings are in effect including a storm surge warning, with three-to-five feet of predicted storm surge around southeast Louisiana, and a flash flood warning, Graham said.

"We don't issue a higher warning than the risk of 'flash flood,'" he said. "It is the highest one we have. We have a high risk of flash flooding for southeast Louisiana, toward Baton Rouge and toward Mississippi."

Building toward hurricane strength, Tropical Storm Barry began hitting Louisiana with wind and rain as it closed in for what forecasters said will be a long, slow -- and epic -- drenching that could trigger flooding in and around New Orleans.

Graham stressed that Category 1 hurricanes were directly responsible for 175 deaths and $103 billion worth of damage in the past 10 years.

With the most of the storm expected to blow ashore by early Saturday, National Guard troops and rescue crews were stationed around the state with boats and high-water vehicles, helicopters were on standby, drinking water and blankets were made ready for distribution, and utility crews with bucket trucks moved into the region.

The hurricane center said parts of Louisiana and southwest Mississippi could see up to 25 inches of rainfall while the remainder of the Lower Mississippi Valley could see up to 12 inches of rain. Graham added the storm's current conditions make that possible.

"It's a problem when [a storm] moves this slow. ... That makes for more rainfall. That makes more impacts and hazards," Graham said. "There's a small chance of becoming a hurricane, but that's not the point here. Either way, there is going to be impacts and hazards associated with this rainfall."

The storm could give New Orleans its worst drenching in decades, possibly eclipsing the city's wettest day on record -- 12.24 inches -- on May 8, 1995, forecasters said. It could shatter Baton Rouge's one-day record rainfall of 11.99 inches from April 14, 1967.

The downpours are expected to pose a severe test of the improvements made in New Orleans' flood defenses since the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"The French Quarter is notorious for having awful drainage," WOFL meteorologist Jayme King said. "The city is already saturated, and the Mississippi River is already high. ... We're hoping they get through this OK."

A hurricane warning has been issued for some parts of the Louisiana coast.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards warned the already-high Mississippi River has been swelled by heavy rain and snow melt upriver this spring.

"There are three ways that Louisiana can flood: storm surge, high rivers and rain," Edwards said. "We're going to have all three."

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He said authorities do not expect the Mississippi River to spill over its levees but cautioned that a change in the storm's path or intensity could alter that.

The hurricane center also is monitoring a tropical wave several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Some development could occur as it moves west at 15-20 mph before conditions become less likely that it becomes a more organized system.

The hurricane center predicted its chance of development over the next five days at 20%.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. [email protected] or 407-420-5008

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