7 million along US Gulf Coast are under a tropical storm warning
Maximum sustained winds with the system increased Friday from 35 to 45 mph as the system moved generally northward towards the US Gulf Coast.
Despite having sustained winds supportive of a tropical storm, the system remains disorganized without a center of circulation required to be a named storm.
“Landfall is expected later tonight, with the center moving near or over New Orleans on Saturday morning,” said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.
By 11 a.m. EST Friday, heavy rainfall and wind gusts were beginning to reach portions of the northern Gulf Coast, the center said. Tropical storm-force winds can be felt as far as 205 miles from the center of the disturbance, forecasters added.
Grand Isle, Louisiana, measured sustained winds at 40 mph.
The storm is forecast to hit Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle through the weekend, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford.
Tropical storm warnings extend from Louisiana into the Florida Panhandle, affecting cities like New Orleans; Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.
Most of the heavy rain and wind will be east of where the center hits land. So eastern Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia will bear the worst of the storm, forecasters say.
And some areas of the coast could see up to 3 feet of storm surge.
Widespread flash flooding will be the main threat in the Southeast.
Hennen said 14 million people are under flash flood watches from Louisiana to Georgia, including New Orleans; Birmingham, Alabama; and Atlanta.
Rainfall on the already saturated ground could be more than a foot in some areas.
Louisiana activates crisis action team
The storm is expected to make landfall along the Louisiana coastline Friday overnight or Saturday morning.
After landfall, the storm will weaken and head to the northeast, hitting Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, Shackelford predicted.
The energy company Chevron Corp. said it has pulled non-essential workers from some Gulf of Mexico offshore operations ahead of the potential tropical weather.
“In preparation for the tropical weather, we have transported all non-essential personnel from our Chevron-operated Big Foot, Jack / St. Malo, and Tahiti platforms. All personnel on our Genesis facility have also been moved onshore,” Chevron spokesperson Tyler Kruzich told CNN in a statement.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards released a statement Thursday, saying, “The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has activated its Crisis Action Team and stands ready to support our local partners with any emergency resources needed beyond parish capabilities.”
In Mississippi, some Juneteenth celebrations have been postponed and canceled along the coast.
In a post on its official Facebook page, Gulfport announced that its City-Wide event has been pushed to June 26. The Juneteenth Freedom Festival in Gautier has been pushed to July, their Facebook event page shows.
Meanwhile, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s Juneteenth celebration in Biloxi has been canceled, according to the museum.
CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Kay Jones contributed to this report.
