Tropical Storm Francine unleashes flooding rainfall and gusty winds as it drives into Louisiana

By Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — Tropical Storm Francine inundated southern Louisiana with flash flooding that made roads impassable and caused power outages that left hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark early Thursday. The storm was the first hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since 2021 and the third to make landfall in the US this year – the most since 2020. Here’s the latest:

• Francine loses steam as it moves through Louisiana: The storm’s center was located about 60 miles north of New Orleans at early Thursday and was moving northeast at 12 mph. Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish as a Category 2 hurricane late Wednesday afternoon before weakening to a tropical storm late that night. Maximum sustained winds slowed from 100 mph at landfall to 45 mph by early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. Francine will progressively deteriorate as it tracks across west-central Mississippi into the Mid-South Thursday and Friday. The storm is forecast to spin down and become a tropical depression by late Thursday and a post-tropical cyclone Thursday night or early Friday.

• Flooding in the New Orleans area: About 6-8 inches of rain fell in the New Orleans area, the National Weather Service said, and a flash flood emergency – meaning potential for catastrophic damage and a threat to life – was briefly issued Wednesday night for the area. While no more rainfall was expected early Thursday, “the area is already being impacted by flash flooding,” the weather service said. In New Orleans, 90 of the 99 drainage pump systems – which can handle one inch of rainfall in the first hour and a half an inch after that – are operational, the city said in a news release. In St. James Parish, where 4-6 inches of rain fell, officials urged residents to stay off the streets as flooding from Francine churned water into homes. And in Jefferson Parish, officials implored residents to stay home and off of roads as “severe street flooding” created dangerous conditions. Elsewhere, Morgan City residents were asked to stay inside due to “unusual amounts of flooding.”

• Strong winds also hit the region: Tropical storm warnings were in effect early Thursday along a southern swath of the Gulf stretching from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Florida state line, as well as the New Orleans metro area, according to the hurricane center’s 5 a.m. advisory. Heavy rains and gusty winds were spreading across New Orleans, with sustained winds of 37 mph and gusts of 47 mph reported at Lakefront Airport. “We are getting consistent gusts of 55-65 MPH across the metro and higher to the southwest,” the weather service in New Orleans said Wednesday evening. “Shelter in place and stay away from windows!”

• At least 26 people rescued from floodwaters: Deputies in Lafourche Parish sprang into action Wednesday night to rescue 26 residents trapped in flooded homes, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. Deputies will have an increased presence in the parish overnight as most of the area is without power, and a curfew in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday, officials said.

• Damage to trees and infrastructure reported: Several parishes along Louisiana’s coastline reported downed trees and power lines as Francine lashed the area with damaging winds. Terrebonne Parish, where Francine made landfall, experienced power outages and toppled trees, Chief Communications Officer Robbie Lee said. Street flooding and downed trees were reported across Lafourche Parish, where there were over 25,000 power outages, a public information officer said. St. James Parish, slightly inland from the coast, had downed power lines, several transformers that blew, and a carport that flew off towards the roadway, the sheriff’s office said in a post on X. Jefferson Parish officials urged households to limit their water usage as the parish’s large and aging sewer system became overwhelmed by storm runoff.

• Thousands experience outages: More than 380,000 utility customers were without power as of about 5 a.m. Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. Some parishes in the state’s south had outages affecting well more than half of utility customers there, including Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary and Assumption parishes. AT&T and T-Mobile customers “across a wide area” were also having issues reaching 911 services for a period of time, but it now appears to be resolved, the city of New Orleans said on social media Wednesday night.

• Tornadoes are also possible: A few tornadoes are possible through Wednesday night across parts of southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. A tornado watch has been issued for those areas and is in effect until 6 a.m., the Storm Prediction Center said. On Thursday, the tornado risk will move into additional parts of Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Additionally, swells are affecting much of the northern Gulf Coast, likely causing life-threatening surf and rip conditions, the hurricane center said in its advisory.

• Rainfall totals in the South: Flood watches were in effect for more than 10 million people across the Southern US. Francine is expected to bring storm total rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with local amounts up to 12 inches across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night, the hurricane center said.

• Storm impacts airports: Airlines canceled all flights out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Wednesday, and some additional cancellations were made for Thursday morning, according to a status update on the airport’s website. The airport is monitoring conditions but will stay open “unless conditions become unsafe.” Individual airlines will determine whether to cancel flights based on weather conditions in the area, the update said. Transportation issues also occurred when a Carnival cruise set to return Thursday was delayed from docking in New Orleans due to Francine, the cruise line said in a post Tuesday.

• Storm forces college campus closures: Because of the severe weather, several Louisiana universities and colleges – including Louisiana State University, Nunez Community College and Tulane University – closed their campuses or moved to remote classes this week.

• More tropical trouble after Francine: Forecasters at the hurricane center have pinpointed four areas to watch for tropical trouble in addition to Francine. While three of the four areas have a low chance for development within the next seven days, one located a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde islands has forecasters on high alert. It has a high chance of developing into at least a tropical depression over the next few days, according to the NHC.

Louisiana residents recover from back-to-back hurricanes

Francine made landfall at a time when residents were still recovering from back-to-back powerful storms that have slammed the state in the past four years.

Over the weekend, the 22-story Hertz Tower was demolished after being empty for years due to irreparable damage from multiple hurricanes that have torn through the region.

In 2020, Hurricane Laura ravaged Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana. The Category 4 storm’s ferocious winds flattened homes, toppled large vehicles, uprooted trees, left many residents without power and took at least six lives. Weeks later, Hurricane Delta left a trail of destruction in the area, followed by a deadly ice storm later that winter.

Just a year later, Category 4 Hurricane Ida threw southern Louisiana into a similar chaos — except it wreaked havoc on the more populated areas in and around New Orleans. Ida dumped more than 10 inches of rain across parts of the Gulf Coast and generated a storm surge as high as 14 feet.

Terrebonne Parish resident Coy Verdin, 55, told the Associated Press it’s only been a month since he finished rebuilding his home after Hurricane Ida damaged it about three years ago. “We had to gut the whole house,” he said.

While he once considered moving farther inland, Verdin said he’s now there to stay. “As long as I can. It’s getting rough, though,” he said. He was going to ride out Francine with his daughter in Thibodaux, a city about 50 minutes away, but he said “I don’t want to go too far so I can come back to check on my house.”

Hurricanes Laura and Ida were tragic examples of how human-caused climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous, and they made lasting impressions on the state and left its residents and infrastructure vulnerable to repeat damage and farther away from recovery. Years later, some residents are still waiting on financial relief, while others are in legal battles with insurance companies.

Francine was the 12th hurricane to hit Louisiana since Katrina 19 years ago in 2005. That is more hurricanes than any other state as seen in that same timespan.

Louisiana officials tell residents to ‘hunker down’

The storm-battered city of New Orleans prepared for Hurricane Francine by investing in infrastructure, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a Wednesday news conference.

“Because we have made solid and sound investments in our infrastructure, we are prepared in [more] ways than we have ever been before,” she added, urging residents to stay home and “hunker down” during the storm.

Some of those changes include overhauling the city’s emergency communications system, according to Orleans Parish Communications District Director Karl Fashold.

“We are in the best place we’ve ever been with regard to 911 reliability,” he said. More staff members have been brought in to answer 911 calls, Fashold added.

New Orleans officials handed out roughly 2,500 sandbags to the public to prepare for the storm. The city also set up emergency resource centers it planned to open after the storm to provide necessary supplies, shelter and other assistance.

City officials urged residents to avoid downed power lines, flooded roads and driving around Lake Pontchartrain.

When using generators during power outages, New Orleans Homeland Security director Collin Arnold warned people to be sure to use them correctly – and outside of their homes – reminding people that the city “lost more people during Hurricane Ida to generators than we did to the storm.”

CNN’s Taylor Romine, Rachel Ramirez, Robert Shackelford, Elizabeth Wolfe, Taylor Ward, Sara Smart, Brandon Miller, Mary Gilbert, Chris Boyette, Amanda Musa and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.

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