Tropical Storm Barry is just off the Gulf Coast and gaining power.
We’re wrapping up our live coverage, but here’s what you need to know about the storm:
You can follow the latest updates on Saturday here.
A new photo shows water washing over a highway in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, after it was closed off to traffic.
The highway was closed earlier today ahead of Tropical Storm Barry, according to Lafourche Parish spokesperson Caroline Eschette.
The photo shows Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s deputies standing in front of the washed out road.
Southwest Airlines has canceled all flights from New Orleans airport Saturday.
They plan to resume service on Sunday, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport tweeted.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Friday it’s “absolutely” the best option for residents to shelter in place as Tropical Storm Barry continues to strengthen.
In making the decision whether to call for an evacuation, Cantrell said, “Time was not on our side.”
New Orleans issued a voluntary evacuation notice Friday afternoon for anyone living outside the city’s levee system — a shift from earlier in the day, when no voluntary evacuation warning had been issued.
Cantrell tweeted that the flood protection authority planned to close the Highway 90 floodgate at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET).
“Due to the closure and anticipated high water on the roadways, public safety personnel will be unable to respond to calls for service,” she tweeted.
Watch for more:
The Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency in Louisiana in preparation for the impact from Tropical Storm Barry.
HHS has also staged around 100 public health officials along with supplies in the region.
The Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans will suspend services tonight ahead of the storm.
Services will be suspended starting 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) as part of an order to shelter in place, which will also start at the same time, the RTA tweeted.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy on Friday said that while Tropical Storm Barry will be a “serious storm,” the people in his home state are “as ready as we can be” to handle the extreme weather coming.
The Republican lawmaker said Louisiana’s emergency procedures are underway and “federal resources are here.”
He said his biggest concern is the heavy rain.
“Water is our concern. No. 1, you get 10 to 20 inches of rain — you’re gonna flood even if you’re on Pikes Peak. We also were concerned about the levees overtopping,” the senator said.
Kennedy continued: “I’ve been through a lot of these. Every storm is different, but they have two things in common: they make you realize that the power of nature can humble the power of human beings anytime it wants to and the other thing I always learn is if you are not scared, you’re either a fool or a liar.”
Kennedy was Louisiana’s state treasurer when Hurricane Katrina hit, the senator said. He said the state is “infinitely better prepared” to endure Barry than it was to take on Katrina.
“[Katrina] was a dumpster fire at all levels — federal, state and local,” Kennedy said. “We had nowhere to go but up.”
Watch for more:
Tropical Storm Barry is expected to be a hurricane when it makes landfall on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory.
The hurricane center warned of a dangerous storm surge, heavy rain and high winds across the northern and central Gulf Coast. According to the forecast, Barry will make landfall over the central Louisiana coast on Saturday.
Here’s a look at the latest storm predictions:
The American Red Cross is making resources available to Louisiana ahead of Tropical Storm Barry.
In a statement, the organization said they are mobilizing volunteers, shelters, relief supplies, vehicles and other equipment for people on the coast.
Here are some of the resources they will have available and how you can take advantage of them if you are stuck in the storm:
The US Coast Guard staged response teams along the Gulf Coast Friday ahead of Tropical Storm Barry.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that it will continue to monitor the storm. They also advised residents to stay off the water, get prepared and follow news reports on the storm.
Offshore oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico have evacuated ahead of Tropical Storm Barry.
They evacuated platforms and rigs, and activated shut-in procedures, which “involves closing the sub-surface safety valves located below the surface of the ocean floor to prevent the release of oil or gas,” according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
Here’s a breakdown of the evacuations:
Another 11 rigs have been moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution.
It seems as if all of New Orleans is preparing for Tropical Storm Barry to make landfall –– including utility companies.
Matt Lupoli, a reporter for CNN affiliate station WESH, tweeted a video of crews fixing a loose crossbar on a power line Friday afternoon.
He said the crews will work for as long as they can before winds get stronger. Once the winds reach 35 mph, it won’t be safe anymore.
Barry is expected to hit parts of Louisiana by Saturday morning.
Tropical Storm Barry is about 100 miles southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane’s Center 2 p.m. ET advisory.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (Remember: It needs sustained wind speeds of at least 74 mph to be upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane).
The latest forecast still shows the storm making landfall in Louisiana tomorrow morning.
Here’s a look at the predicted path:
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is asking residents and visitors to be ready to shelter in place starting at 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) as Tropical Storm Barry moves towards the city.
What we know about the storm: Barry is getting stronger as it creeps across the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters en route to a landfall expected early Saturday in Louisiana.
While it could reach hurricane strength, the real peril it poses to roughly 10 million people in its path is rain, which could quickly trigger unprecedented flooding.
Ten to 15 more inches of rain are on the way, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said, threatening to inundate ground already soaked from a Wednesday storm that flooded some New Orleans homes and businesses.
Stefanie Markey and the other four owners of Mid City Yacht Club in New Orleans had heard too many concerns from their patrons and neighbors who didn’t have access to sandbags as Tropical Storm Barry approaches Louisiana.
“People were trying to get sandbags in other parishes but being turned away without proof of living in that particular parish,” she told CNN.
They knew something needed to be done. That’s when the owners got on the phone with a friend who owns a concrete company.
At 6:30 a.m. today, a truck dumped 20 yards of sand on the street corner opposite the bar. By 7:30 a.m., they were handing out sandbags.
Here’s the moment the sand arrived:
“We are just a neighborhood bar trying to help out our neighbors,” Markey told CNN. “We are thankful to be in a position that we are fortunate enough to do so.”
So far, the sand has provided neighbors and patrons with 1,100 sandbags and counting.
Markey says the bar has a backup generator and hope to remain open throughout Tropical Storm Barry.
Tropical Storm Barry is now producing 65 mph winds –– that’s less than 10 mph away from hurricane strength.
The National Hurricane Center classifies a Category 1 hurricane as having 74 mph sustained winds. At that strength, winds could damage roofs, shingles, siding and gutters as well as snap or topple trees. There is also a threat of damage to power lines and power outages.
But remember: Officials in Louisiana are most concerned about the heavy rain the storm will bring. The state is bracing for storm surges and major floods especially along the Mississippi river.
One woman who lives in New Orleans said the possibility of another disaster is traumatic and stressful for people who lived through Hurricane Katrina.
Tanya Gulliver-Garcia, who lives in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood, told CNN:
She said she felt like the mayor was in a tough spot.
“Evacuations take several days to work well and there really wasn’t that much time. That was an issue during Katrina when Mayor Nagin declared the evacuation too late and chaos and crowded conditions on roads ensued,” Gulliver-Garcia said.
But, she continued saying the mayor wasn’t above the impact of flooding.
“She lives only a few blocks from me in Broadmoor. We’re one of the lowest areas of the city,” Gulliver-Garcia said.
How she is prepping:
Gulliver-Garcia said she is planning on taking what she calls a “hurrication.” She previously planned a to New York City, with flights scheduled to leave Friday night. But, she said she still is preparing for uncertainty and stocked up on food, gas and water in case her vacation falls through.
“My concerns are getting out for the vacation and then what I’ll be coming home to,” she said. “I’m going to move some valuable papers and all my prescriptions to a friend’s third floor apartment in Metairie. I’m taking 12 days of prescriptions with me personally for a five day trip in case coming home is an issue. I’m moving my car to the same friend’s apartment complex since it’s much higher ground.”
The governor of Louisiana said there are 3,000 National Guard members and 300 buses across the state in preparation for Tropical Storm Barry.
Governor John Bel Edwards told CNN Friday morning President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the state, giving them access to more resources.
“Heed the warnings,” Edwards said, pointing out that fatalities often happen when motorists try to drive through floodwater.
“It’s deeper than they believe it to be, and also there’s current that sometimes is imperceptible,” he said. “We need individuals to not drive through standing water.”
Watch the full interview:
New Orleans is getting ready for the rain and flooding forecasted to come with Tropical Storm Barry this weekend.
The city closed the flood gate at 1489 Intracostal Drive Thursday night.
Residents are also taking measures to try to minimize damage from flood waters by boarding up store fronts and setting up storm barriers.
The mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, did not issue evacuations. Instead, she told residents to shelter in place.
But, some places in Louisiana did tell their residents to get out.
Here are the parishes that have issued evacuations:
CORRECTION: Parts of St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and Terrebonne are under voluntary evacuation orders. A previous version of this post stated they were under mandatory evacuation orders.
Tropical Storm Barry will make landfall tomorrow but Louisianans are feeling its effects already.
Feeder bands are moving onshore as the storm churns and strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the bands will bring tropical storm force winds, along with heavy rain, and possible flooding.
They also carry a threat of spawning an isolated tornado.
