Heavy rain, flooding main threat for SW La.
Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane late tonight or early Wednesday morning between southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi-Alabama state line.
“I think we’re going to be OK for this one, but just as a reminder this would be a good time to check your (hurricane preparedness) plans,” Dick Gremillion, Calcasieu Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness director said during a weather briefing Monday evening.
“For our region, we still have a heavy rain and flooding threat through Tuesday morning,” National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Erickson said. “One to three inches of rain is expected.”
Erickson said Southwest Louisiana’s rain can be attributed to a separate pressure system hovering over northeast Texas.
“Tuesday will see less rain, before a potential heavy rain threat increases again Wednesday through the end of the week,” he said.
Erickson said the rainbands expected are typically 20-30 miles wide and can extend more than 100 miles long.
“These rainbands will be focused areas where flooding will occur, as well as isolated tornadoes and gusty winds of 40 miles per hour,” he said.
At the coastline, tides will run a foot above normal this week, he said. Minor coastal flooding is possible during periods of high tides.
Erickson said Orange, Texas, has already seen five to 10 inches of rain since Sunday because of the pressure system. He said parts of Southwest Louisiana had reported two to four inches.
An additional one to three inches of rain is expected through Friday in the area.
“There could be locations seeing much higher values, depending on where rainbands develop later this week, mainly in the Wednesday-through-Friday time frame,” Erickson said.
Depending on the exact path Gordon takes, Southwest Louisiana’s risk for flooding could increase by Wednesday.