Tropical Storm Francine brings heavy rain and gusty winds to New Orleans, Louisiana

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Tropical Storm Francine inundated southern Louisiana with flash floods that left roads impassable and caused power outages that left hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark early Thursday. The storm was the first hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since 2021 and the third to make landfall in the U.S. this year – the most since 2020. Here's the latest news:

• Francine loses momentum as she moves through Louisiana: The center of the storm was about 60 miles north of New Orleans early Thursday, moving northeast at 12 mph. Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish late Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm late evening. Maximum sustained winds slowed from 100 mph at landfall to 45 mph early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. Francine will progressively worsen Thursday and Friday as it moves across west-central Mississippi and into the Mid-South. The storm is expected to weaken and become a tropical depression late Thursday and a post-tropical cyclone Thursday night or early Friday.

• Flooding in the New Orleans area: The New Orleans area received about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) of rain, the National Weather Service said, and a flash flood emergency order was briefly declared for the area Wednesday night — meaning catastrophic damage and danger to life. Although no further rainfall was expected early Thursday morning, “the area is already experiencing flash flooding,” the weather service said. In New Orleans, 90 of the 99 drainage pump systems — which can handle 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain in the first hour, and 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters) after that — are operating, the city said in a news release. In St. James Parish, where 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain fell, authorities urged residents to stay off the streets as flooding from Francine sent water into homes. And in Jefferson Parish, authorities urged residents to stay home and avoid the streets as “severe flooding” is creating dangerous conditions. Elsewhere, residents of Morgan City were asked to stay in their homes due to “unusually severe flooding.”

• Strong winds also hit the region: Tropical storm warnings were in effect early Thursday across a southern swath of the Gulf stretching from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Florida border, as well as the greater New Orleans area, according to the 5 a.m. hurricane center warning. Heavy rains and gusty winds spread across New Orleans, with sustained winds of 37 mph and gusts of 47 mph reported at Lakefront Airport. “We have consistent gusts of 55-65 mph throughout the metropolitan area and stronger in the southwest,” the weather service in New Orleans said Wednesday evening. “Stay safe and stay away from windows!”

• At least 26 people rescued from the floods: Lafourche Parish officials jumped into action Wednesday evening to rescue 26 residents trapped in flooded homes, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. Officers will have an increased presence in the parish overnight as power is out in most areas and a curfew is in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday, officials said.

• Reported damage to trees and infrastructure: Several parishes along Louisiana's coast reported downed trees and power lines as Francine swept through the area with destructive winds. Terrebonne Parish, where Francine made landfall, saw power outages and fallen trees, communications director Robbie Lee said. Flooding and downed trees were reported throughout Lafourche Parish, where there were over 25,000 power outages, a press secretary said. In St. James Parish, just inland from the coast, there were downed power lines, several transformers blown through the air and a carport blown into the street, the sheriff's office said in a post on X. Jefferson Parish officials urged households to limit their water use because the parish's large and outdated sewer system was overwhelmed by stormwater.

• Thousands experience outages: More than 380,000 customers have been without power since about 5 a.m. Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. Some communities in the southern part of the state have experienced outages affecting well over half of customers there, including Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary and Assumption parishes. AT&T and T-Mobile customers “across a wide area” also had trouble reaching 911 for a while, but that now appears to be resolved, the city of New Orleans said on social media Wednesday evening.

• Tornadoes are also possible: A few tornadoes are possible in parts of southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Wednesday night. A tornado warning has been issued for those areas and is in effect until 6 a.m., the Storm Prediction Center said. On Thursday, the tornado threat will reach more parts of Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. In addition, large parts of the northern Gulf Coast are affected by swells that are likely to create life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the Hurricane Center said in its warning.

• Rainfall in the south: Flood warnings have been issued for more than 10 million people in the southern U.S. Francine is expected to bring rainfall of 4 to 8 inches through Thursday night, with local amounts of up to 12 inches in southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, the hurricane center said.

• Storm affects airports: According to a status update on the airport's website, airlines canceled all flights from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Wednesday, and more cancellations were made for Thursday morning. The airport is monitoring conditions but will remain open “unless conditions become unsafe.” Individual airlines will decide whether to cancel flights depending on weather conditions in the area, the update said. Transportation issues also arose when a Carnival cruise ship scheduled for Thursday was unable to dock in New Orleans due to Francine, the cruise line said in a post Tuesday.

• Storm leads to closure of university campuses: Due to the severe weather, several universities and colleges in Louisiana – including Louisiana State University, Nunez Community College and Tulane University – closed their campuses or switched to distance learning this week.

• Further tropical problems after Francine: In addition to Francine, meteorologists at the hurricane center have identified four other areas where tropical problems are expected. While the probability of development within the next seven days is low in three of these four areas, meteorologists are on high alert in an area a few hundred miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. According to the NHC, there is a high probability that the area will develop into at least a tropical depression in the next few days.

Francine arrived at a time when residents were still recovering from the numerous severe storms that had hit the state over the past four years.

Over the weekend, the 22-story Hertz Tower was demolished after years of standing vacant due to irreparable damage from several hurricanes that swept through the region.

In 2020, Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana. The Category 4 storm's fierce winds leveled homes, overturned large vehicles, uprooted trees, left many residents without power, and claimed at least six lives. Weeks later, Hurricane Delta left a trail of devastation in the area, followed by a deadly ice storm later that same winter.

Just one year later, Category 4 Hurricane Ida plunged southern Louisiana into similar chaos – but it devastated the more densely populated areas in and around New Orleans. Ida brought more than 10 inches of rain to parts of the Gulf Coast and caused a storm surge of up to 14 feet.

Coy Verdin, 55, of Terrebonne Parish, told the Associated Press he rebuilt his home just a month ago after Hurricane Ida damaged it about three years ago. “We had to gut the whole house,” he said.

Although he once considered moving further inland, Verdin said he will now stay put. “As long as I can. But it's going to be tough,” he said. He wanted to leave Francine with his daughter in Thibodaux, a town about 50 minutes away, but said, “I don't want to go too far away so I can come back and check on my house.”

Hurricanes Laura and Ida were tragic examples of how human-caused climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous. They left lasting scars on the state, leaving its residents and infrastructure vulnerable to further damage and making recovery from it even more difficult. Years later, some residents are still waiting for financial assistance, while others are mired in legal battles with insurance companies.

Francine was the twelfth hurricane to hit Louisiana since Katrina 19 years ago in 2005, making it the state with more hurricanes during that period.

The storm-hit city of New Orleans has prepared for Hurricane Francine by investing in infrastructure, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a press conference on Wednesday.

“Because we have made solid and robust investments in our infrastructure, we are able to [more] In an unprecedented way,” she added, urging people to stay home and stay safe during the storm.

Those changes include an overhaul of the city's emergency call system, according to Karl Fashold, director of the Orleans Parish Communications District.

“We are now in a better position than ever in terms of 911 reliability,” he said. More staff have been hired to answer emergency calls, Fashold added.

New Orleans authorities distributed about 2,500 sandbags to residents in preparation for the storm. The city also set up emergency relief centers that it plans to open after the storm to provide essential supplies, shelter and other assistance.

City officials urged residents to avoid downed power lines and flooded streets and to avoid driving around Lake Pontchartrain.

Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Department of Homeland Security, warned citizens to use generators properly during power outages — outside of their homes. He reminded residents that the city “lost more people to generators during Hurricane Ida than we did to the storm.”

CNN's Taylor Romine, Rachel Ramirez, Robert Shackelford, Elizabeth Wolfe, Taylor Ward, Sara Smart, Brandon Miller, Mary Gilbert, Chris Boyette, Amanda Musa and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.