Tropical Storm Lee is threatening the southern states as it picks up power and speed in the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama could see 10 inches to 15 inches of rain by Sunday and may not be ready for it. Tropical Storm Lee is currently bringing at least 20 inches of rain to the Gulf with speeds of 65mph. Read more about Lee and when it’s going to touch down in the states after the jump.
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A slow-moving tropical system with the potential to douse summer-ending beach plans and bring up to 20 inches of flooding rain to parts of the Gulf Coast strengthened into a tropical storm Friday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Tropical Storm Lee could bring winds of 65 mph when it makes landfall this weekend, CNN meteoroloigist Sean Morris said.
The state of Louisiana and 10 of its parishes had declared states of emergency as of Friday afternoon, Gov. Bobby Jindal said. LaFourche Parish and the city of Grand Isle also issued voluntary evacuation orders, he said.
“This is going to be a slow-moving storm. It’s going to bring a lot of rain,” Jindal said.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour also declared a state of emergency for portions of southern Mississippi expected to be affected by the storm.
The storm, which still fell short of tropical storm status late Friday morning, was likely to reach land in the next 48 hours, forecasters said.
The storm is over water as warm as 90 degrees and atmospheric conditions that are limiting its development should become more favorable to strengthening over the next 24 hours, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.
Tropical storm-force winds are being reported at several oil rigs in the Gulf, according to Morris and the National Hurricane Center.
The current track suggests a possible landfall west of Morgan City, Louisiana on Sunday morning, Morris said.
The storm was barely moving Friday morning, inching northward at 2 mph. At about 1 p.m. CT, it was located 210 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River and had winds of 40 mph, the Hurricane Center reported. Heavy rain was spreading acorss southeastern and south-central Louisiana, the weather service said.
Tropical storm warnings were up for the Gulf coast from Pascagoula, Mississippi to Sabine Pass, Texas.
Portions of southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama could see 10 inches to 15 inches of rain by Sunday, with isolated totals of 20 inches, according to the Hurricane Center.
New Orleans, much of which sits below sea level, is likely to see 8 to 10 inches of rain in the next few days, Mayor Mitch Landrieu told reporters.
“What we do know is there’s high wind, there is a lot of rain and it’s going slow,” Landrieu said Thursday. “That’s not a good prescription for the city of New Orleans should it come this way.”
Some oil producers began evacuating employees ahead of the storm.
BP and ExxonMobil asked workers to leave their Gulf rigs and shut down wells, according to company officials.
Chevron has ordered nonessential workers off the platforms, and Shell said it had evacuated 550 workers as of Friday morning.
“The number of personnel evacuated today will depend on weather conditions, and we will only transport personnel if safe to do so,” the company said in a statement.
In addition to expected flooding from heavy rains and storm surge, the weather is threatening to ruin the usually busy summer-ending Labor Day weekend for thousands of beach-goers. It’s also brewing six years to the week after Hurricane Katrina came ashore, devastating portions Louisiana and Mississippi — including New Orleans.
That city’s mayor urged residents to be prepared and collect emergency items such as bottled water, batteries, nonperishable food, first-aid kits and family documents.
While they may not be needed this time, the region was entering an “active phase of the storm season,” Landrieu said.
CNN
