Live Blog: Mandatory evacuations underway in Louisiana due to Tropical Storm Barry

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NEW ORLEANS — Here is a live blog with the latest updates on the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thursday, July 11:

– 10:26 a.m. – Tropical Storm Barry is expected to make landfall late Friday. Meteorologists do not know when the storm will turn into a hurricane but expect it will do so sometime before it hits Louisiana.

– 10:20 a.m. – East Jefferson Hospital will operate normally Thursday and Friday. Jefferson Parish officials have not received word about the other hospitals in the parish, but expect hospital administrators will make their decisions soon. 

– 10:18 a.m. – Thinking about evacuating? Want to be ready if you get either a voluntary or mandatory evacuation warning? Check out our emergency kit building guide here. 

– 10:15 a.m. – 13,000 customers lost power in Jefferson Parish Wednesday, Entergy officials said. In Jefferson Parish, crews will not be able to do line repairs while floodwater persists, so if power is knocked out during the storm over the weekend, it could be some time before it is restored. 

-10:07 a.m. – Jefferson Parish crews have cleaned 2,000 catch basins ahead of Tropical Storm Barry. 

Some areas of the parish experienced up to seven inches of rain during Wednesday’s storm, and parish president Michael Yenni said the early test of the parish’s pumps indicated the pumps would work throughout the storm to remove water: 1 inch of rain during the first hour and half an inch every hour after that. 

– 10:00 a.m. – Winds of 20 to 40 mph are expected in the metro New Orleans area. Tropical Storm Barry is a “slow mover” according to WWL-TV meteorologists, meaning that it could linger over the weekend. 

Forecasts have not determined the exact path of the storm. If it stays to the west of the New Orleans area, it means more rain for NOLA. If the storm passes directly over the city, as some models indicate, heavier rain would call near the Mississippi border.

– 9:52 a.m. – Tropical Storm Barry has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It is expected to make landfall Friday or Saturday, possibly developing into a hurricane. 

– 9:47 a.m. – No evacuations have been called for St. Bernard Parish as of Thursday morning. 

The National Weather Service is expected to give the latest update on the formation of the tropical storm around 10 a.m.

– 9:41 a.m. – Tropical storm-level winds could be coming as soon as Thursday evening, according to St. Bernard Parish officials. 

But officials said there is five feet between the water and the top of the levee around the parish, and they are confident the barriers will withstand the storm. 

– 9:36 a.m. – Lafourche Parish is “100 percent better” than during previous hurricanes, Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle said. 

“Hopefully this is going to be enough to handle the deluge of water we’re going to be getting.” 

– 9:30 a.m. – The storm system that could become Hurricane Barry has not developed at this time, according to meteorological forecasts. It is expected to develop and make landfall sometime Friday or Saturday. 

– 9:17 a.m. – More JP school closures: The ACT that was scheduled for Saturday at Bonnabel High and Grace King High has been postponed.

Officials did not say when it would be rescheduled to. 

Check out the full list of closed schools in Jefferson Parish

-9:03 a.m – Carnival Cruise Line says it rerouted a cruise ship headed to New Orleans because of the potential tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.

– 8:46 a.m. – Jefferson Parish schools and offices in the schools are closed Friday, July 12:  Complete list

-8:35 a.m. – A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for Grand Isle. The order goes into effect at Noon today.

-8:25 a.m. – Scheduled press conferences today to be streamed on WWL-TV app/Facebook/ web site
             9:30 AM: St. Bernard Parish
             10 AM:    Jefferson Parish
             11 AM:    City of New Orleans
             12:30:     Governor’s press conference

-8:15 .a.m. – Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reports long-term parking is closed. Short term parking and credit card lot are open. 

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-7:55 a.m.

St. John the Baptist Parish announces sandbag locations. Full parish-by-parish list here.

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-7:50 a.m.

9400 still without power in Tangipahoa parish this morning due to a problem with a substation 

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RELATED: Entergy: Substation issue caused massive power outage in Tangipahoa Parish

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-7:35 a.m.

A mandatory evacuation has been issued for low-lying Lafitte, Barataria, Crown Point and the town of Jean Lafitte. Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni announced the evacuation orders on the Eyewitness Morning News.

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-7:20 a.m.

A voluntary evacuation has been called for parts of Lafourche Parish. The voluntary evacuation order is in effect for areas south of the Leon Theriot Lock in Golden Meadow and for Port Fourchon.

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-7:15 a.m.

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-7:05 a.m.

Bus service has been restored in New Orleans, but not all public transportation is up and running. The RTA has limited service after Wednesday’s flood and with a storm forming in the Gulf.

• All Bus service is operating as normal.
• All streetcar service lines have been replaced with bus service, in anticipation of the impending weather event.
• All Ferry vessels have been secured for safety and a bus bridge is in place for ferry services.
• Paratransit service is running as normal.

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– 7:00 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center has released its 7 a.m. advisory on potential tropical cyclone two. The system is still expected to become a tropical depression later Thursday. A hurricane watch is still in effect for the mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron, La.

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– 6:40 a.m.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has scheduled a 12:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the state’s preparations ahead of the storm’s landfall. 

WWL-TV will live stream the governor’s news conference online when it begins.

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– 6:00 a.m.

A mandatory evacuation or is now in effect for the East Bank of Plaquemines Parish and part of the parish’s west bank.

The evacuation effects about 8,000-10,000 people

READ MORE: Mandatory evacuation ordered for east bank of Plaquemines Parish, part of west bank

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– 5:20a.m. 

Entergy Louisiana reports that an issue at a substation caused a massive power outage that left nearly 13,500 people without power in Tangipahoa Parish Thursday morning.

There is still no estimated time for restoration. As of 5 a.m., the utility said that more than 9,000 customers are still without power.

READ MORE: Entergy: Substation issue caused massive power outage in Tangipahoa Parish

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– 3:47 a.m. 

The National Hurricane Center’s latest 4 a.m. advisory says Potential Tropical Cyclone Two is not a depression yet, but is “expected to be one soon.”

The system is currently sitting about 125 miles south southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. Click here for the latest forecast. 

—

– 3:30 a.m.

Nearly 13,500 people lost power Wednesday night around the Ponchatoula area, according to Entergy Louisiana’s online outage map.  

According to the online map, the entirety of Ponchatoula and much of the surrounding area south of I-12 all lost power at once at 12:41 a.m. 13,474 customers were affected as of 3:30 a.m.  

“Due to the thunderstorms along with the high winds that have and continue to move through the area we are experiencing numerous outages,” Entergy said online. More details here. 

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-3:12 a.m.

A potential tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico presents twin troubles for parts of southeast Louisiana — the possibility that a high Mississippi River will be lapping at the tops of levees this weekend, and a danger of flash floods like the one that unexpectedly walloped New Orleans on Wednesday. 

PHOTOS: Waterspouts, flooding in New Orleans

As much as 8 inches of rain was dumped in parts of metro New Orleans in a three-hour span, ahead of the Gulf of Mexico system that was forecast to strengthen into a tropical depression Thursday, a tropical storm called Barry Thursday night, and, possibly, a weak hurricane by Friday.

Forecasters said Louisiana could see up to 12 inches of rain by Monday, with isolated areas receiving as much as 18 inches. And the storm’s surge at the mouth of the Mississippi could also mean a river that’s been running high for months will rise even higher.

Mississippi and Texas were also at risk of torrential rains. Keep reading the story here.

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-12:50 a.m.

There is little change with Potential Tropical Cyclone 2, which is still churning in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm has barely moved in the last few hours, but is expected to approach the Louisiana coast this weekend. It’s projected to become a tropical storm later Thursday and a hurricane by late Friday. Click here for the latest forecast.

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Wednesday, July 10:

– 10:45 p.m.

The 10 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center has shifted the track a bit more east and closer to New Orleans. 

– 10:30 p.m. 

Here’s the latest 10 p.m. forecast. Expect the heavy rain to continue through the weekend as the tropical system gets closer to the Gulf Coast. Read the latest on the storm here.

– 10 p.m. 

Updated coordinates, map – system close to a depression.

RELATED: Track rain on animated radar

– 9:12 p.m. 

Photos and videos show flooding & waterspouts in New Orleans.

Most of the damage done across New Orleans was from flood water, but a possible tornado had scalpel-like precision when it hit a home on Bancroft Drive. The rest of the homes on the streets were untouched.

READ: House obliterated by possible tornado – the rest on the street were untouched

PHOTOS: Waterspouts, flooding in New Orleans

– 9:02 p.m.

Here are the latest tracks and models.

– 8:32 p.m. 

Catholic schools close campuses on Friday, July 12 in anticipation of bad weather. Full list of closures.

(Don’t see yours on the list? Email: pressrelease@wwltv.com)

– 8:26 p.m. 

Full list of current Weather Warnings for our area

– 8:20 p.m. 

The Army Corps is “confident” in levees protecting us from the Mississippi River despite the chance of having the highest river levels in 70 years. Click for story.

– 6:38 p.m.

Crews are closing all 200 flood gates, a “highly unusual” move, according to levee authorities. The river is at 16 feet now. Normally, it’s at 8 feet. Click here to read the story.

The National Weather Service now predicts the river will spike to 20 feet Saturday afternoon due to storm surge associated with the storm.

Flood stage is 17 feet, so if the forecast holds the Mississippi would actually rise to 3 feet above flood stage.

MORE: Corps putting sandbags in some low levee spots; River levees could have water ‘splash over’

– 5:25 p.m.

Parts of Plaquemines Parish will be under a mandatory evacuation order Thursday morning as what could become Hurricane Barry approaches the Louisiana coast. The evacuation would impact about 8,000 to 10,000 people. Click to read the story.

– 4:30 p.m.

Several parishes are giving out free bags of sand to help residents prepare for the upcoming storm. Click here for a list of locations.

– 2:00 p.m. 

At a press conference Wednesday, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell declared a state of emergency for the city, but assured residents that New Orleans is ready for future flooding and street closures. Click here to read the story.

– 1:15 p.m. 

Louisiana declared a state of emergency as residents on the coast brace for the landfall of a potential hurricane this weekend.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Potential Tropical Storm Barry will likely bring storm surge, hurricane-force winds and up to 15 inches of rain across Louisiana.

“This is going to be a Louisiana event with coastal flooding and widespread, heavy rainfall potentially impacting every part of the state,” said Gov. Edwards. “No one should take this storm lightly.” Read the full story here.

TRACKING THE STORM

WWL-TV Hurricane Center

‘100-year storm’ strikes New Orleans as city already braces for tropical weather  

Mississippi River forecast to spike to highest level in 70 years 

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