Hurricane Delta is now Tropical Storm Delta and the center of the storm is near Monroe. The heaviest rains from Delta are now in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, but northeast Louisiana is experiencing tropical storm-force winds at his hour.

There are widespread power outages. Entergy is reporting 313-thousand customers are without power. Cleco is reporting widespread outages in the Alexandria and New Iberia areas.

Delta came ashore last night as a Category Two hurricane in the town of Creole, which is located in Cameron Parish. Lake Charles reported wind speeds of 96-miles per hour. New Iberia recorded a wind speed of 90 miles per hour. The Lafayette and Opelousas areas recorded wind speeds of 75 miles per hour. Alexandria saw wind speeds at 45-miles per hour. And in Monroe, a 63-mile per hour wind gust was recorded at 1:30 this morning.

Not only is power out, but many roads are flooded from Hurricane Delta. A flash flood warning continues for Monroe, Ruston and West Monroe until 8:45 this morning. Natchitoches, Jena and Colfax are under a flash flood warning until 9 AM.

There have been some impressive rainfall totals from Delta even into Central and North Louisiana. Catahoula in Grant Parish has recorded 12 inches of rain. Jena almost ten inches, Natchitoches eight inches, and Monroe has seen over five inches of rain.

You have numerous roads closed because of flooding. The state department of transportation is reporting that I-10 West is closed on the Calcasieu River Bridge until further notice due to multiple incidents.

If you are using a generator, State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue reminds users to let the generator cool down before refueling…
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Rodrigue also recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors when using generators.

Delta continues to push deeper into central Louisiana bringing hurricane-force gusts and tropical storm force winds to most of the state and Flash Flood Emergencies in at least two areas, those being central Louisiana near Alexandria and southwest Louisiana.

Rainfall totals have ended up on the higher end of the projected six to ten-inch totals and in some areas exceeded them. We’ve seen reports of up to 17 inches in some parts of the southwest and 12 inches and climbing in Alexandria. Due to this rapid accumulation of water residents from Lake Charles to Alexandria are encouraged to find higher ground specifically if they are in already low lying areas.

High speed gusts are wiping the state, and have knocked out power to 230,000 total households and climbing in the state between Entergy and Cleco combined. 7,000 linemen stand prepositioned in Louisiana to respond once the winds dissipate just before sunrise.

Delta was a category two when it made landfall in the small community of Creole in Cameron Parish around 6 PM. It became the 4^th named system to make landfall in the state this year, and the 10^th to make landfall in the US breaking a record of nine set in 1916.

The system is not weakening nearly as quickly as it was thought it would. The storm may maintain hurricane strength as it passes Alexandria and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele saysin the morning we will likely see a good deal of wind damage.

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The storm is expected to be out of the state before the sun rises tomorrow.

Hurricane Delta is down to 80 mile per hour winds as it pushes deeper into the state now sitting about 20 miles north of Jennings. The storm was projected to take a much sharper northeast turn than it has so far, with the system mostly moving north from its landing in Creole as a category two hurricane around 6 PM.

A full track for the storm is out and it looks like Delta made landfall just 12 miles to the east of where Laura did six weeks ago.

That’s bringing problems back into southwest Louisiana that many thought they had put behind them. Up to 15 inches of rain could accumulate in parts of the region by morning and a Flash Flood Emergency has been declared in SW LA. Residents are highly encouraged to seek higher ground.

171,000 Entergy customers are now without power and 75,000 Cleco customers have joined them. That number is expected to continue to rise. Power outages extend as far east as Baton Rouge where 40,000 customers are without power.

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Delta is expected to be out of our hair in Louisiana within the next ten hours. After the storm leaves though Governor Edwards asks you not to get in the way of first responders and repair crews that are out making sure the roads are safe and the powerlines are up. He says more people have lost their lives recently in the post-storm phase than mid-event…

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More than half of those deaths were related to generator mishaps. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says to make sure you keep your generator at least 20 feet away from your home and don’t plug the generator directly into the home or structure, it will cause a situation of back feed and create a house fire.

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107,000 Entergy households are now without power in the wake of Hurricane Delta along with 55,000 Cleco customers and that number is expected to rise as the system pushes deeper into the state.

An unexpectedly high amount of rain combined with rising rivers has officials issuing a Flash Flood Emergency in much of southwest Louisiana until 1 AM. Parts of the region already have absorbed nearly ten inches of rain with several more inches of rain possible by the end of the night. Under an emergency residents are strongly encouraged to seek higher ground.

The storm is beginning to enter central Louisiana and is on a general northeastern path out of the state. Tropical storm force winds are stretching across the Boot and Governor Edwards says just because you aren’t in the direct path doesn’t mean you won’t be getting nasty weather tonight…

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After Hurricane Laura, most of the fatalities that followed the storm were a result of generators. Brooke Thorington has tips on proper usage.

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Governor Edwards will be touring impacted areas Saturday once the storm has passed by helicopter to get an idea of what kind of damage the storm left. The storm is expected to be long gone from the state by sunrise.

Hurricane Delta is down to category one strength and is passing out of Cameron Parish in this hour on its northeastern trek across the state. Winds are being clocked at 90 miles per hour and Entergy reports 95,000 customers are currently without power, and that number is expected to continue rising. All but the most southeastern and more northwestern sections are the state are set to experience at least tropical-storm-force winds between now and 12PM.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says because the system is moving at a brisk 14 mile per hour pace there’s an off chance even Alexandria could experience hurricane-force gusts by the end of the night.

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Debris is being scattered and blue roofs are being torn off homes in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. Cameron Parish Farm Bureau President James Cox told us earlier today about his concerns on flying debris post-landfall…

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Delta is expected to be out of our hair in Louisiana within the next 12 to 14 hours. After the storm leaves though governor Edwards asks you not to get in the way of first responders and repair crews that are out making sure the roads are safe and the powerlines are up. He says more people have lost their lives recently in the post-storm phase than mid-event…

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More than half of those deaths were related to generator mishaps. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says to make sure you keep your generator at least 20 feet away from your home and don’t plug the generator directly into the home or structure, it will cause a situation of back feed and create a house fire.

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Rodrigue also recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors when using generators.

Hurricane Delta is clear ashore after making landfall earlier this hour near Creole, a small unincorporated community in eastern Cameron parish that’s about 40 miles south of Lake Charles as a category 2 storm, but it appears to be quickly falling apart with radar scans showing the eyewall has mostly collapsed. That’s good news as only the northern eyewall has persisted and folks under the wall won’t face the wrath of a southern side of the eyewall landing a second blow.

Governor Edwards says even though the system has weakened it will still bring some potentially damaging winds deep into the state.

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Radar shows scattered rain bands are stretching as far north as the Monroe area and as far east as Livingston Parish.

From its landfall in Creole the storm is expected to take a gentle northeastern curve and power through Alexandria before pushing into the Delta parishes and out into north Mississippi. State Climatologist Barry Keim says this won’t be the biggest storm to hit us this year but we certainly aren’t dodging a bullet.

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Flash flooding is possible with Hurricane Delta. About ten inches of rain fell north of Baton Rouge on Thursday night, flooding about 25 homes in Baker. Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele says you don’t have to be in the direct path of Delta to be impacted…

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About eight inches of rainfall has been recorded so far in Lake Charles.

The eyewall of Hurricane Laura is now moving ashore in Cameron Parish, with reports on the ground indicating that eyewall is being torn apart rapidly as it moves overland. Those in the area may not actually see a clear sky if they look up as the wall is moving over them.

Videos of Lake Charles show Hurricane Laura debris shaking and blue roofs beginning to tear. Heavy winds and some scattered pockets of heavy rain are being felt as far north as Baton Rouge right now and by 8PM tonight most of the state will either be experiencing, or have experienced tropical storm force winds.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says Delta appears to have made landfall as a category two and will potentially send some hurricane force gusts deep inland as it races across The Boot over the next 14 hours.

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Only six to ten inches of rain are expected and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele says they’re most concerned about widespread wind damage.

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If your power gets knocked out by delta and you need to flip on the generator please be careful as a majority of Hurricane Laura’s 30 attributed deaths came from generator-related incidents. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says the number one most important thing to keep in mind is where you put your generator.

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Those fumes are carbon monoxide, and they can kill you. When placing a generator 20 feet from your home also check the extension cord for exposure of wires and deterioration.

The 4 PM update shows Hurricane Delta is losing organization and now sits just 35 miles off the coast of Cameron Parish. The system is still expected to make landfall as a category two storm sometime in the next few hours and current projections show it weakening quickly once it moves inland to a tropical storm, but due to its sheer size we will likely be seeing tropical-storm-force winds across at least half of the state by 8 pm tonight.

Governor Edwards warns that we’ve already seen rain bands dump up to ten inches over parts of the Baton Rouge area and while only five to ten inches of rain are expected for most of the state it certainly is possible we could see isolated pockets of up to 15 inches of rains in some parts…

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With rain bands now pummeling the southwest, we have flash flood warnings now in effect for Lake Charles, Sulphur, and Moss Bluff.

After Hurricane Laura, most of the fatalities that followed the storm were a result of generators. Brooke Thorington has tips on proper usage.

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State Climatologist Barry Keim says the good news is Delta won’t take long to leave due to its brisk 14 mile per hour pace…

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Hurricane Delta is now just about five hours away from landfall in eastern Cameron Parish. Jeff Palermo spoke with storm-weary state leaders about the possibility for more damage just six weeks after Hurricane Laura…

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Delta is now about 50 miles from the southwest Louisiana coast moving 14 miles per hour with 105 mile per hour winds. About 7,000 power line crews stand ready in the state to move into impacted regions to begin restoring power immediately after the system leaves the area.

While most of the focus for Delta is on the potential for heavy winds the storm could still generate pockets of intense rainfall of up to fifteen inches in some areas. About ten inches of rain fell north of Baton Rouge on Thursday night, flooding about 25 homes in Baker. Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele says you don’t have to be in the direct path of Delta to be impacted…

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Governor Edwards warns residents to remain vigilant even after the storm leaves the state sometime early tomorrow. He says if you have to activate your generator don’t leave it indoors, and if heavy winds take down trees in your area don’t go out joyriding…

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