Following a brief stint as a Category 1 hurricane, Barry weakened once again to a tropical storm on Saturday after making landfall along the central Louisiana coast.
As Barry moved inland, multiple reports emerged of levees overtopping in Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes, with mandatory evacuations being ordered by Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove for all areas along Louisiana Highway 315.
Meteorologist Reed Timmer captured footage of water overtopping in a levee. Mary Parish. Mandatory evacuations have been put into effect for areas south of Highway 317 with no sheriff’s deputies going door to door.
Around 10 a.m. CDT Saturday, Barry became the first hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season and the fourth hurricane to ever make landfall on the Louisiana coast of the month. When the storm’s initial landfall occurred, the center of circulation moved across Marsh Island, followed by its final landfall near Intracoastal City, about 160 miles west of New Orleans.
Since record-keeping began in 1851, only Hurricanes Bob in 1979, Danny in 1997 and Cindy in 2005, have made landfall on the Louisiana coast in July, according to Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach.
Rather than weakening, Barry will continue to spread slowly to a wide swath of flooding and torrential rain from Louisiana and Mississippi to eastern Arkansas, according to Meteorologist.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards warned residents during a press conference that Barry would be a significant weather event, telling residents not to take the storm lightly. Edwards said the state and levees in New Orleans were ready for impact and floodwaters.
“We have a lot of people going to bed thinking that the worst is behind them, when in fact, it’s not going to be the case,”
Gov. Edwards said on Saturday the potential dangers on Sunday.
Barry gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico as early as Friday morning in Louisiana. Timmer reported from just outside Chauvin, Louisiana, about an hour south of New Orleans.
Every flood gate has been closed along Lake Pontchartrain due to the anticipated flooding. The city of New Orleans did not offer any sandbags ahead of the storm, but businesses and residents stepped up to provide sandbags for people in town
Travelers were faced with canceled flights in New Orleans on Saturday, while Rolling Stones fans missed out on the Rolling Stones concert this weekend after it was postponed to Monday due to Barry. The date of the concert could change again due to the lingering impacts of the storm.
Impacts from Barry were felt along the Florida Panhandle as well. On Friday, a law enforcement officer was treated for facial cuts after a powerful wave churned up by Barry broke the windshield of a boat near Destin, Florida, about 50 miles east of Pensacola.
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