Weakened Barry on a slow, soggy march

Barry moved agonizingly slowly across Louisiana with an expected arrival Monday in Arkansas, producing thunderstorms and torrents of rain that may cause widespread flooding.

Reclassified from a tropical storm to a tropical depression late Sunday afternoon, Barry’s maximum sustained winds were at 35 mph, and it was expected to weaken further as it moved north at a leisurely 9 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

After making landfall Saturday, Barry moved toward Shreveport on Sunday. There were fears of flooding from Louisiana north through the lower Mississippi Valley, the center said.

Three inches of rain fell in the predawn hours Sunday in Jackson, Mississippi, leading to concerns about rising water levels in the state’s capital city.

Barry was expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches over south-central Louisiana. In some places, rainfall could total 20 inches, the hurricane center said. The heavy rainfall raised fears that trees may top

ple.

“The roots are so saturated that if any wind, or any kind of shift happens, they’re easier to come up out of the ground. It’s not snapping limbs – it’s the whole entire tree,” said Carrie Cuchens, who lost power at her home southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana.

In Morgan City, Louisiana, Lois and Steve Bergeron said the storm stirred up a lot of havoc in the yard, but “at least it didn’t hit our house,” Lois said.

In addition, the hurricane center said tornadoes were possible across portions of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, western Alabama, eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee.

At one point, about 130,000 Louisiana customers were without power.

The good news: New Orleans’ levees held. The lower Mississippi River was opened to shipping Sunday morning, the Port of New Orleans said. Cruise ship arrivals and departures were expected to stay on schedule.

Barry made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane – the first hurricane of the season – near Intracoastal City, Louisiana, about 150 miles west of New Orleans. The storm entered the coast with sustained winds of up to 75 mph.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards warned people to not “let their guard down” despite Barry’s weakened state.

“My concern is people are going to bed thinking the worst is behind us,” he told reporters at a news conference late Saturday. “It’s going to be a long few days.”