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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Storm shelters are available and calling 211 is the best way to stay up to date with shelter openings in your area…

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 Governor John Bel Edwards has expressed his confidence in the state’s readiness for Barry.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

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The United Cajun Navy has mobilized at L’Auberge Casino and Hotel in Baton Rouge ahead of what is expected to be a likely flooding event brought by Barry’s rainfall.

Founder Todd Terrell says the riverboat casino is a good spot to gather, with its central location in the soon-to-be inundated region.

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They’re putting the call out for additional volunteers to assist in post-storm flood rescue and recovery, but Terrell says with the conditions they are expecting, not all boats are a good fit…

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Terrell says if you are interested in volunteering with the Navy, go to their Facebook page and leave a message, or download an app called ZELLO.

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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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Walters adds 2-1-1 will likely be a more up to date and reliable method of finding shelters than relying on lists published online.

The Secretary says if you are heading to a shelter, bring personal hygiene items, medications, and you don’t need to worry about food because you will be fed and taken care of, but…

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Good news for pet owners, as state shelters will have pet facilities. But not every shelter will be a state-run operation, and Walters says you should check ahead of time to make sure your local shelter is pet-friendly.

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Governor John Bel Edwards is confident in the state’s ability to handle the wrath of Tropical Storm Barry.  Edwards says on Wednesday, New Orleans pumping operations were given a test, and they did fairly well…

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Edwards says no matter how prepared a state may be, a storm like Barry is always a wild card.

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Many have questioned why the Army Corp of Engineers has not opened the Morganza Spillway in response to the storm.  Edwards says an operation of that magnitude takes about ten days to stage, and it would be redirecting river water to places that didn’t need any more water.

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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 early 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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Alexandria is in for some rough weather, but further to the south, the system will trigger severe flooding, which will likely require rescues and evacuations. Luneau says the state’s mega shelter located near LSU-Alexandria is ready

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People rescued during search and rescue operations will be taken to this shelter.

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Barry is expected to make landfall later this morning as a Category 1 Hurricane. National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Grigsby says the storm appears to be getting better organized.

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While the risks associated with storm surge appear to have fizzled out, the strong threat still remains with excessive rainfall and possible tornado activity.

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Grigsby says planes are flying through the storm collecting data to get a better picture of the storm

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The 10PM advisory from the National Hurricane Center indicates Tropical Storm Barry continues to creep closer. The advisory shows the storm to be 75 miles south of Morgan City. National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Grigsby says the storm appears to be getting better organized.

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At this time, Barry is still considered a tropical storm, but the upgrade to cat 1 hurricane status is still expected before landfall.

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It appears the storm surge is less of a threat than originally forecast, with the Mississippi River levels expected to peak out just above 17 feet.

Governor John Bel Edwards says Louisiana residents need to be ready for a major rain event as Tropical Storm Barry approaches Louisiana’s coastline. Edwards expects Barry will produce numerous power outages mainly caused by trees falling on power lines

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Individuals who are rescued by first responders could be taken to the state’s mega-shelter in Alexandria.

Caddo and Bossier Parish deputies have been deployed to Baton Rouge as part of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Task Force.  Caddo Sheriff’s spokesperson Bobby Herring says rescue teams and equipment are making the trip at the request of the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s office. Herring says deputies that remain back in their jurisdiction will likely also be very busy with concerns created from the storm.

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The 10PM advisory from the National Hurricane Center indicates Tropical Storm Barry continues to creep closer. The advisory shows the storm to be 75 miles south of Morgan City. National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Grigsby says the storm appears to be getting better organized.

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Heavy rainfall is still a major concern, but Grigsby says tornado warnings are now being issued in portions of coastal Louisiana.

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It appears the storm surge is less of a threat than originally forecast, with the Mississippi River levels expected to peak out just above 17 feet.

Governor John Bel Edwards says Louisiana residents need to be ready for a major rain event as Tropical Storm Barry approaches Louisiana’s coastline. Edwards says the National Hurricane Center predicts 10 to 20 inches over south-central and southeast Louisiana, with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches

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Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Barry is expected to close numerous roads, especially south of Interstate 10. State Department of Transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett says check 5-1-1-la-dot-org for road closures

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Mallett says the slogan he likes to use during heavy rainfall events, don’t drown, turn around, which means don’t drive through high water.

The 10PM advisory from the National Hurricane Center indicates Tropical Storm Barry continues to creep closer toward Morgan City at a rate of 3 miles per hour. The advisory shows the storm to be 75 miles south of Morgan City. Maximum sustained winds are at 65 miles per hour. There’s been debate as to whether or not the system will be a tropical storm or hurricane when it makes landfall, but, State Climatologist Barry Keim says, either way, the amount of rain will be nearly identical.

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Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Barry is expected to close numerous roads, especially south of Interstate 10. State Department of Transportation spokesperson Rodney Mallett says in preparation for this flash flooding event, D-O-T-D crews have been cleaning out ditches

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President Trump makes a federal declaration of emergency for Louisiana as Tropical Storm Barry approaches.  Congressman Garret Graves says with an imminent disaster, there are many uncertainties and it is vital government officials and residents to be over prepared.

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Governor John Bel Edwards says Louisiana is looking at a major rain event as Tropical Storm Barry shows signs of strengthening into a hurricane. Jeff Palermo has the story….

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