Tropical Storm Cristobal makes landfall along southeast Louisiana coast
NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday evening, bringing hazardous conditions that will continue to spread inland across portions of the northern Gulf Coast.
As of 7 p.m., a storm surge warning from the National Hurricane Center was in effect for parts of Mississippi and Louisiana. Photos and videos on Twitter showed some highways in Louisiana were already impassable due to flooding.
The center of Cristobal was forecast to move inland across southeastern Louisiana through Monday morning, then northward into Arkansas and Missouri on Monday afternoon into Tuesday. It is projected to weaken to a tropical depression Monday, according to the NHC.
Coronavirus testing events that had been scheduled for Monday in Jackson have been canceled, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said in an email.
The third named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season made landfall around 5 p.m. Sunday and will leave its mark as it moves inland along the southeast coast of Louisiana, forecasters said.
“Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate today,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned. “The center of Cristobal will approach the northern Gulf of Mexico coast this afternoon, then move inland across Louisiana late today through Monday morning, and northward across Arkansas and Missouri Monday afternoon into Tuesday.”
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In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency. “Continue to stay weather aware this weekend as Tropical Storm Cristobal makes its way to Louisiana,” Edwards warned residents in a tweet.
Windows were boarded up in New Orleans hours before Cristobal’s expected landfall.
Though the streets were mostly empty, those still running errands were not too concerned with the impending storm.
CR Holloway, 83, a French Quarter resident, wore a face mask as he shopped for sesame seeds for a dinner party he plans to host Monday evening. When asked about the potential for flooding in the city, he said his thoughts are more occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for police changes than they are with Cristobal.
“The storm seems like the lesser of all evils, very insignificant compared to what’s going on in our culture,” Holloway said.
Similarly, art gallery owner Vina Nguyen framed the storm in the larger context of events that have rocked her city.
Like many shop owners in downtown New Orleans, Nguyen boarded up her art gallery last week to protect from the protests against police brutality as much as the storm. Before last week’s rallies, the gallery was closed because of the pandemic.
“It’s crazy what we’re going through with the pandemic, the protests and now a tropical storm. It’s an eerie time,” Nguyen said. “I’m kind of in disbelief.”
Brandon Smith of Biloxi, Mississippi, said he always boards up before a storm.
“We learned a powerful and expensive lesson with (Hurricane) Katrina, and I suppose I’m a little paranoid about the storms these days,” he said. “It’s always inconvenient to drag the boards out of the shed, but a few hours of preparation goes a long way.”
Smith said his family home, which is near the Tchoutacabouffa River, flooded during Katrina, but no windows were broken. The home is 15 feet above sea level, so he does not expect to see flooding from Cristobal.
“But I try to take every precaution to protect the house against flying debris,” he said. “If a window gets destroyed, everything inside gets ruined. Why not protect it?”
Smith’s grandfather, Senior Master Sgt. Jimmy L. Smith, was a founding member of the Hurricane Hunters 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.
“He passed away a few years ago, but I take these storms as seriously as he did, and always will,” Smith said.
The storm could spawn heavy rains from East Texas to Florida this week, the hurricane center said. Cristobal is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches across portions of the central Gulf Coast into the Lower Mississippi Valley, and 12 inches of rain is possible in isolated areas.
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Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted last month as many as 19 named storms would form this year, of which as many as 10 will be hurricanes. It’s one of many forecasts that predict an unusually busy Atlantic hurricane season, which started Monday.
The storm already had an impact Saturday evening when a tornado touched down near downtown Orlando, the National Weather Service said. The twister just missed a group of George Floyd protesters at Lake Eola around 7:30 p.m. There appeared to be no injuries, but tree limbs were knocked down, and there were reports of power outages.
“Yes, it is related to the tropical storm that is well to our west,” said Scott Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida. “But the tropical storm provided a lot of low level shear, and that has allowed for some tornadoes to form over Central Florida.”
Miller reported from Arlington, Virginia; Reyes from New York. Contributing: Lici Beveridge, The Hattiesburg American; Grace Pateras, The Lafayette Daily Advertiser; Elinor Aspegren, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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