Tropical Storm Barry is continuing it’s path towards Lafayette after making landfall in Vermillion Parish, knocking out power to over 100,000 customers in coastal parishes. Jeff Palermo spoke with Entergy about the outages…

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And a weaker than expected Barry, combined with a more westerly track means that the Baton Rouge area may be in line to avoid some of the worst of the rains. Initial forecasts showed the region getting 10-15 inches of rain, but that’s since been downgraded to six to ten.

Governor John Bel Edwards says the state has mobilized it’s assets to prepare for any rescues that will need to be carried out as a result of rising waters from Barry. He says the Coast Guard has helicopters ready to save residents from sticky situations, but is asking people not to put themselves at risk voluntarily. He cautioned against disaster sightseers who might be tempted to put themselves in danger to grab a captivating Facebook video of the flood.

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As the waters rise and people need to be evacuated, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Wilson wants residents to know that the state is ready to get refugees out of flood zones and into shelters

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The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has distributed 29 water pumps.

Tropical Storm Barry is now working it’s way up The Boot after making landfall near Intracoastal City in Vermillion Parish, and the system is still expected to track just to the west of Lafayette before moving towards Alexandria, and off into north Louisiana.

The system is moving even slower than officials thought it would, which means this won’t just be a one day event. Governor John Bel Edwards says get ready to hunker down for the weekend and don’t go outside unless you need too.

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The slow-moving system is still projected to dump over a foot of rain across the south-central portion of the state. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Wilson says the new, slow moving track will complicate the situation on the roads…

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DOTD has closed 16 roads so far, mostly in coastal Parishes. 

After a mostly quiet morning conditions in the Baton Rouge area are beginning to deteriorate with heavy wind gusts cutting through the city and the rain continuing at a steady pace for the last two hours. Authorities are concerned that the significant amount of rainfall will lead to a record crest at the Comite River.

As nasty as those rains will be, at least the state looks set to dodge some of the worst cast scenarios that were projected in the previous 48 hours. State Climatologist Barry Keim has the new rainfall projections for Barry.

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The rainfall levels for the already saturated New Orleans have also thankfully been reduced to four to eight inches.

105,000 customers are now without power as Barry make’s his way onto land. Those outages appear to be clustered in coastal parishes, and Entergy spokesperson Lee Sabatini is warning that the power can’t be fixed until the winds fall below 30 miles per hour

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Barry has made landfall near Intracoastal City in Vermillion Parish and has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it works it’s way to Lafayette.

The storm is expected to dump 10-15 inches of water across portions of south Louisiana, and Governor Edwards says that’s creating a flood risk in the Baton Rouge area. He says the Amite river will crest lower than the Great Flood of August 2016, but…

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And in St. Tammany, Parish President Pat Brister says they could see flooding similar to a March 2016 event that locked down portions of the parish. Brister has the timeline on when the Pearl, Tchefuncte, and Bogue Falaya river will crest.

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The rain is starting to pick up in parts of south Louisiana, but it’s still been a fairly dry morning. The Governor addressed that concern saying most of the rain that is coming is still falling in the gulf, and State Climatologist Barry Keim says expect conditions to get a lot wetter further into the afternoon.

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Winds are picking up in the Baton Rouge area as a 50 mile per hour gust was reported in Tiger Stadium earlier.

Power is starting to go out across the coast, and Entergy spokesperson Lee Sabatini warns that outages along the coast will take longer than usual to address…

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Some intense video from earlier showing a levee being overtopped has had some context added, as officials say that it was not a Mississippi River levee, but a backwater levee. They say this was expected, and the structure has not been breached.

Hurricane Barry continues it’s slow creep into Louisiana, having touched land in Morgan City, and it’s expected to continue moving northwest into Vermillion Parish, before hugging the western edge of Lafayette.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says the system is unusually slow moving, and looks set to stick around in the state through the weekend.

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During that time parts of south-central Louisiana from the western edge of Baton Rouge to Lafayette will receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, with isolated areas looking at potential for even more rain.

There’s some pretty gripping video on twitter at the moment of a levee in Myrtle Grove in Plaquemines Parish being overtopped, but officials say it is not a breach, and they anticipated overtopping’s in some areas as the river’s already at a high water.

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St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister says some of the river systems that flooded in a 2016 march flood event are expected to flood again as heavy rainfall combines with already high river levels. She says compared to 2016…

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Highway 51 from I-10 to Ruddock has been closed due to high water.

Entergy is reporting power outages to 66,830 residents in Louisiana as of this morning to due the strong and steady winds of Hurricane Barry, but Spokesperson Lee Sabatini says repairs can’t begin until the winds fall below 30 miles per hour.

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The governor will be addressing the state with an update on the situation at 1PM.

Hurricane Barry has made landfall near Morgan City and is expected to continue it’s current northwest track that will take it just west of Lafayette, but there’s some good news for Louisiana residents this hour as it looks like the worst case scenarios for rainfall from the incoming hurricane Barry may be avoided. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a lot of rain is still on the way, but it’ll fall shy of the nearly two feet of rain anticipated yesterday.

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But he adds the rain will likely fall all through the weekend, and even into Monday morning for parts of north Louisiana.

And some of the first heavy rain bands from Barry are expected to start impacting the Mandeville, Covington, Folsom, and Slidell after spending most of the morning dumping a lot of rain over Mobile, Alabama and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister says the parish is anticipating similar, if not worse flooding than they got in 2016 due to the already high rivers.

To the south of St. Tammany New Orleans has had it’s rainfall expectations lowered to four to eight inches of rain throughout the weekend.

The coast guard has already had to make some rescues this morning in Terrebonne Parish. Around 4:30 this morning crews retrieved 12 people who were facing rising waters.

Several shelters have opened to provide residents refuge from the effects of Barry. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says you can keep track of different shelter locations by listening to your parish leaders, but the best way to get that info is dialing 2-1-1.

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State run shelters are pet friendly, and the Louisiana Humane Society wants to remind people it is illegal to leave your dogs behind in a flood.

Barry has officially developed into a hurricane just off the coast of south-central Louisiana, and is headed north-northwest at 6 miles per hour on a collision course for Vermillion Parish in the Lake Arthur area. Once it hits land, the system is expected to track just west of Lafayette and up into Alexandria.

It’s been a relatively dry morning for most of south Louisiana, but State Climatologist Barry Keim says expect that to change further into the afternoon.

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Barry is still expected to bring 10 to 20 inches of rain to parts of south Louisiana, but a recent model shows that heavy rainfall zone will now no longer include New Orleans, which is expected to get 4-8 inches of rain.

The heaviest rainfall is projected to take place just west of Baton Rouge and span south to the coast, and over to Lafayette.

With heavy rainfall anticipated in the Baton Rouge region the Cajun Navy has mobilized at L’Auberge Casino and Hotel in south Baton Rouge. They’re putting the call out for additional volunteers to assist in post-storm flood rescue and recovery, but founder Todd Terrell says with the conditions they are expecting, not all boats are a good fit…

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Those looking to volunteer can contact the Navy’s on Facebook.

So far we’ve seen water overtop a Myrtle Grove levee in Plaquemines Parish. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says it’s not a levee failure.

Several shelters have opened to provide residents refuge from the effects of Barry. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says if you are heading to one, bring personal hygiene items, medications, and don’t worry about food…

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Tropical Storm Barry continues to slowly make its way towards the Louisiana coast, eyeing a landfall near Vermilion Bay later this morning or early this afternoon, possibly as a Category One hurricane. So far we’ve seen water overtop a Myrtle Grove levee in Plaquemines Parish.

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says it’s not a levee failure and state and local officials anticipate this type of issue.

The U-S Coast Guard was called to rescue 12 people and a cat from a flooded island in Terrebonne Parish. And strong winds are causing scattered power outages.

So far not much rain from Barry. Radar indicates strong storms on the Mississippi Gulf coast, the Florida Panhandle and south Alabama, while the significant rainfall for Louisiana remains offshore.

The Bayou State is still expecting 10 to 20 inches of rain for south central and southeast Louisiana. Northeast Louisiana is also under a flash flood watch until Monday morning.

Tropical Storm Barry’s maximum sustained winds are 70-miles an hour and dangerous storm surge and heavy rain are expected. Governor Edwards says the state has done a lot to prepare for this storm…
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Storm shelters are available and calling 211 is the best way to stay up to date…
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Tropical Storm Barry is gaining strength as it approaches Louisiana’s coastline.It’s maximum sustained winds are 70-miles per hour, just short of hurricane strength. A landfall is expected near Vermilion Parish. Phil Grigsby with the National Weather Service says the significant rainfall will come after landfall…
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Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser has sent pictures to the media showing the overtopping of a levee in Plaquemines Parish near Myrtle Grove. Upstream in New Orleans, Governor John Bel Edwards is confident in the levee system…
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The projected crest of the Mississippi River in New Orleans is down to 17 feet.

The U-S Coast Guard was called this morning to rescue a dozen people stranded by flooding on an island in Terrebonne Parish. The island was placed under a voluntary evacuation. Shelters are open across south Louisiana and Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says many of them are pet friendly, but call the shelter hotline number at 2-1-1…
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Barry’s track shows the storm is not just a south Louisiana problem as forecasts show the system will likely be a tropical storm as it moves right over Alexandria Sunday morning. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau says local officials worked hard to prepare, but he’s seen less urgency from some of his constituents…
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Barry is expected to be a tropical depression in north Louisiana on Sunday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Barry continues to get stronger as it approaches Louisiana’s coastline…
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That’s Phil Grigsby with the National Weather Service in Slidell. The 7 AM advisory from the National Hurricane Center has Barry’s maximum sustained winds at 70-miles per hour and it’s made a slight turn to the northwest at five miles per hour. The center of Barry is 50 miles west-southwest of Morgan City and about 60-miles south of Lafayette.

The official forecast track of Barry has the storm as a tropical storm just north of Lafayette early Sunday morning. And the center of the storm will be a tropical depression in north Louisiana tomorrow afternoon.

Barry is still expected to produce total rain accumulations of 10 to 20 inches over south-central and southeast Louisiana. A lot of rain will not happen until after landfall.

Several shelters have opened to provide residents refuge from the effects of Barry. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says your parish leaders will provide shelter locations, but the best way to get that info is dialing 2-1-1.
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Is opening of the Morganza Spillway in Pointe Coupee Parish an option to help alleviate pressure on Mississippi River levees downstream? Governor Edwards says it’s not because, an operation of that magnitude takes about ten days to stage, and it would redirect river water to places that do not need any more water.
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The predicted crest of the Mississippi River in New Orleans has been lowered to 17 feet and the levee system can handle a 20 to 25-foot crest.

The National Hurricane Center still believes Tropical Storm Barry will make landfall by midday as a Category One Hurricane in the Vermilion Bay-Morgan City area. The storm’s maximum sustained winds are 65 miles per hour and its moving west-northwest at five miles per hour. The official forecast track has shifted a little to the west.

Governor John Bel Edwards has expressed his confidence in the state’s readiness for Barry. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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Numerous shelters have opened across south Louisiana as flooding and power outages will force people out of their homes. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says if you head to a shelter, bring personal hygiene items, medications and…
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Food is also provided at these shelters.

The Coast Guard has been called to rescue a dozen people in Terrebonne Parish who are trapped as a result of rising waters. Other search and rescue operations are expected to take place. United Cajun Navy founder Todd Terrell says if you are interested in volunteering, go to their Facebook page and leave a message or download an app called ZELLO…
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