Weather: Louisiana Coast No Longer Under Hurricane Warning, Barry Likely To Weaken To Depression
LOUISIANA (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Tropical Storm Barry's winds have weakened and the Louisiana coast is no longer under a hurricane warning.
The National Hurricane Center said Saturday afternoon that the storm's maximum sustained winds have fallen to 65 mph (105 kph). Officials expect Barry to weaken and become a tropical depression Sunday as it moves inland, meaning its winds would fall below 39 mph (63 kph).
Still, the center continues to warn of dangerous storm surge, heavy rains and strong winds.
The hurricane warning that had been in effect from Intracoastal City to Grand Isle has been downgraded to a tropical storm warning. Also, the Louisiana coast east of the mouth of the Mississippi River is no longer under a tropical storm warning.
The storm's center was located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west-southwest of Lafayette.
This comes nearly an hour after officials ordered an evacuation due to water overtopping a levee in a rural coastal parish in Louisiana.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official Mark Wingate told reporters on a conference call Saturday that officials saw "no concerns at all about (water) overtopping the Mississippi River levees."
Wingate said all of the city's canal locks are in good shape.
Chief Operating Officer of Global Medical Response Ted Van Horne stated in a news release Saturday that the American Medical Response team is ready to respond since Barry has already started causing a lot of damage to the Gulf Coast.
"We know how devastating these storms can be for the local communities, so we are prepared and ready to respond at a moment's notice." He also stated that the company's National Command Center in Dallas is organizing and deploying resources and is continuing to monitor weather and emergency conditions.
CBS 11 News meteorologist Jeff Ray said the remnants of Barry — the first hurricane of the season — will just be east of North Texas come Sunday, but will continue to travel north through Louisiana and Missouri Valley until Tuesday.
North Texas can expect a cloudy Sunday, Ray said.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)