Snakes become Barry’s latest threat
Storm has diminished, but rain being carried toward the Ohio Valley
Hurricane Barry, which had diminished to a tropical depression Monday, remained a dangerous storm that still threatened floods, tornadoes and a new concern – snakes.
Authorities in St. Tammany Parish, 50 miles north of New Orleans, said the area “may have dodged a bullet” when Barry gave it only a glancing blow. But residents were urged on social media to look for other dangers.
“If the area you live in has high water, watch out for snakes and other critters who are trying to escape the flood waters as well,” the Fire Protection District warned on Facebook.
Elsewhere, the storm’s effects were lingering. In Alabama, Barry’s rains overwhelmed sewer systems, the Weather Channel said, as more than 250,000 gallons of sewage spilled from systems along Alabama’s coasts.
Bands of heavy rain also continued to spread across Louisiana, Mississippi and eastern Arkansas on Monday. The risk for major flooding hung over the region that could see up to 2 feet of rain before skies clear later Monday or Tuesday, Accuweather forecast.
The heaviest rain may pour down at rates of 2-4 inches per hour.
"Our greatest concern is for torrential rain that would result in life-threatening flooding," Accuweather hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski said.
One spot in Louisiana picked up 17 inches of rain, the weather service said.
As of Monday afternoon, the center of the system was located over northern Arkansas. It had winds of 25 mph and was moving to the north at 12 mph.
Kottlowski said the risk for some flooding was spreading north into parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. Parts of Mississippi and Alabama were among areas where tornadoes were a possibility, he said.
The National Weather Service said Barry was expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 8 inches across Arkansas, western Tennessee and Kentucky, southeast Missouri, and northwest Mississippi.
Barry will spread drenching showers and thunderstorms across the Ohio Valley and into the interior Northeast on Wednesday, according to Accuweather.
Barry barreled ashore along the Louisiana coast west of New Orleans on Saturday and quickly weakened to a tropical storm. In Louisiana, power outages topped 150,000 on Sunday, and the National Guard was out in force. But Gov. John Bel Edwards said he was grateful the state was not hammered as badly as had been feared.
“I, for one, am extremely grateful that the forecasted rains and flooding did not materialize,” Edwards said. “This is a storm that could have played out differently.”
Still, Baton Rouge was setting a new record every day. The Mississippi River rose above flood stage in January and has not dropped below that mark since, Accuweather said. And it may not do so until summer’s end.