Gulf Coast states brace for latest dangerous storm
NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Gulf Coast is bracing for a fast-moving blast of wind, heavy rain and rising water as deadly Tropical Storm Nate threatened to reach hurricane strength before a weekend landfall.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts. A hurricane warning was issued a few hours later for metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
In an advisory Thursday night, forecasters warned the storm was growing in strength, with maximum sustained winds increasing to 60 mph and higher gusts.
“Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico,” the advisory said.
States of emergency were declared as Nate — which has already killed at least 25 people in Central America — became the latest in a succession of destructive storms this hurricane season.
Nate is forecast to dump up to 6 inches of rain on the region — with isolated totals of up to 12 inches. That led authorities to warn of flash flooding and mudslides. By midafternoon yesterday, Nate was moving at 21 mph. It was expected to move near the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula late last night and make landfall in the U.S. late today or tomorrow.
Evacuation orders were issued for some coastal communities, including the Louisiana towns of Jean Lafitte and Grand Isle.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu ordered a curfew for the city from 6 p.m. tonight to sometime tomorrow morning after Nate has made landfall on the Gulf Coast.
The state mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops ahead of the storm, which is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in six southern counties. State officials, at a briefing yesterday in Gulfport, warned that Nate’s main danger will be from up to 10 feet of storm surge in lowlying coastal areas, as well as from winds that could damage mobile homes.
On Alabama’s Dauphin Island, owners hauled boats out of the water and tourists canceled beach reservations for the weekend. The major concern was that Nate’s storm surge was projected to coincide with high tide.