After briefly increasing to hurricane strength Barry is now back to a strong tropical storm as it moves inland through southern Louisiana. Barry is a very slow moving storm and the effects from rainfall are anticipated to produce extreme flood risks for Louisiana and Mississippi throughout the next three days.
If you are in the impacted region stay alert to warnings and advice from local officials. If you find yourself in need of assistance, you can reach out to CTH via the email address on the sidebar; or use the comment section below which will be monitored.
At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Barry was located near latitude 29.8 North, longitude 92.1 West. Barry is moving toward the northwest near 6 mph (9 km/h), and a turn toward the north-northwest is expected tonight, followed by a turn toward the north on Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of Barry will move through southern Louisiana this afternoon, into central Louisiana tonight, and into northern Louisiana on Sunday.
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At 2:00pm EST Tropical Storm Barry is strengthening with current 65 MPH winds. Barry is still forecast to become a hurricane shortly before landfall. Slow movement, warm water and growing energy is a concern as Barry is anticipated to be a long duration flood event.
Extreme rains and widespread flooding are anticipated for Louisiana and the Mississippi valley area. Pay close attention to local officials for your area. Barry is not a concerning wind event; however, the extreme rainfall and flooding are significant concerns.
Hurricane Center – At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Barry was located near latitude 28.4 North, longitude 90.6 West. Barry is moving toward the west-northwest near 5 mph (7 km/h). A motion toward the northwest is expected to begin later today, followed by a turn toward the north Saturday night. On the forecast track, the center of Barry will approach the central or southeastern coast of Louisiana through tonight and then make landfall over the central Louisiana coast on Saturday.
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The latest storm advisory from the National Hurricane Center still shows Louisiana as the most likely impacted region of the northern gulf coast. Tropical Storm Barry will likely become Hurricane Barry shortly before landfall. Severe flooding is the largest concern.
National Hurricane Center – At 4:00pm CDT (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Barry was located near latitude 27.8 North, longitude 89.3 West. Barry is moving toward the west near 5 mph (7 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue tonight. A turn toward the northwest is expected on Friday, followed by a turn toward the north on Saturday.
On the forecast track, the center of Barry will be near or over the central or southeastern coast of Louisiana Friday night or Saturday, and then move inland into the lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday.
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A storm is gaining strength in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the National Hurricane Center is now predicting organization to hurricane strength late Friday. If you live in a gulf coast community pay attention to storm updates.
At 1000 PM CDT (0300 UTC), the disturbance was centered near latitude 27.7 North, longitude 88.0 West. The system is moving toward the west-southwest near 9 mph (15 km/h). A motion toward the west is expected on Thursday, followed by a west-northwest motion on Friday and a northwestward motion by early Saturday. On the forecast track, the system is expected to approach the Louisiana coast this weekend.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and the disturbance is forecast to become a tropical depression early Thursday, a tropical storm by late Thursday, and a hurricane by late Friday. (LINK)
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A recap of President Trump and First Lady Melania thanking rescue and recovery workers, and visiting families and communities devastated by recent tornadoes in the Southeast.
Tune out the noise, this is what matters:
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The local residents were intensely appreciative of the response from the Trump family.
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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to the worst impacted areas of eastern Alabama today to review damage from a recent series of tornadoes and comfort victims. Traveling aboard AF1 was Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, and Representative Mike Rogers.
President Trump toured Lee County, Alabama, where 23 people were killed by a massive EF4 tornado almost a mile wide. After Air Force One landed at a military base along the Georgia border, the President took Marine one for an aerial tour of the damage while press followed in two Ospreys.
The President and First Lady then traveled to Beauregard, Alabama, where at least one tornado had maximum impact and visited with survivors of the storm.
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A minimum of two, and possibly as many as five, tornadoes hit eastern Alabama (Lee County) near the Georgia border and devastated several small communities. Horribly, at least 23 people were killed and the death toll is expected to rise.
(Via Reuters) BEAUREGARD, Ala. – Alabama residents and rescue workers on Monday dug through the remnants of homes destroyed by a spate of tornadoes that killed at least 23 people, including two children, the deadliest U.S. twisters in almost six years.
The tornadoes ripped through Lee County on Sunday with winds of at least 150 miles per hour (240 kph), at the midpoint of the six-step Enhanced Fujita scale, which meteorologists use to measure tornado strength.
The latest updates from Paradise, California, according to Butte County Sheriff and Cal Fire:
- Two more bodies located Friday. Death toll now: 81
- Number of Missing Persons rises again to: 870 [list here]
- Number of homes lost is now: 12,637
- Number of commercial buildings lost is now: 483
Important video information below:
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A guilt ridden departing governor Jerry Brown concedes that President Donald Trump is absolutely correct in the California mismanagement of the forestry. With the death of untold numbers of people –yet to be discovered– Jerry Brown knew immediate changes were needed to logging regulations to thin the California forests. Trump was right!
CALIFORNIA August 2018 – Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing broad new changes to California’s logging rules that would allow landowners to cut larger trees and build temporary roads without obtaining a permit as a way to thin more forests across the state.
The proposal — which has the support of the timber industry but is being opposed by more than a dozen environmental groups — would represent one of the largest changes to the state’s timber harvesting rules in the past 45 years.
Boy, is this video ever interesting. In the first several minutes of the video (briefing) Governor Brown and Governor-elect Newsom are absent. Likely both are receiving massive inbound communication from their political teams and national democrats who are watching every granular moment/optic for political damage and giving advice.
After Brown and Newsom finally show up, their lack of actual connection to the crisis being explained in front of them is jaw-dropping. Watch their body language, they are oblivious to the actual issues at hand and have no questions for the SME’s. Stunning. Absolutely stunning.
As a comparative mental exercise in competence. Compare two states, of similar size, similar populations, amid similar crises.
Contrast Governor Brown in these moments against Florida Governor Rick Scott following the hurricanes. Brown appears detached, lost, and incapable (perhaps unwilling) to understand the details of the challenge (past and present); whereas Florida Governor Rick Scott was/is entirely engaged, entirely absorbed in the details of rescue and recovery, and entirely understanding of the challenges in each event.
What a contrast.
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