Cristobal crashes into Louisiana coast
NEW ORLEANS – Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southeast Louisiana early Sunday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center, bringing hazardous conditions that will continue to spread inland across portions of the northern Gulf Coast.
Prior to making landfall around 5 p.m., Cristobal had slowed down on its trek toward the Gulf Coast.
As the storm remained offshore, thousands were without power Sunday morning in parts of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. Some roads had flooded. The National Weather Service reported one tornado Saturday night in Florida, near downtown Orlando.
The third named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season was not expected to intensify into a hurricane, but it will leave its mark as it moves inland along the southeast coast of Louisiana, forecasters said.
Squalls with tropical-force winds reached the mouth of the Mississippi River on Sunday, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The storm had slowed to 5 mph on a northward trajectory after moving at 12 mph earlier in the day. By Sunday evening, Cristobal was moving at 7 mph and was 65 miles south of New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center expected “a gradual turn toward the north-northwest late” Sunday.
“Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate today,” the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned. “The center of Cristobal will approach the northern Gulf of Mexico coast this afternoon, then move inland across Louisiana late today through Monday morning, and northward across Arkansas and Missouri Monday afternoon into Tuesday.”
In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency. “Continue to stay weather aware this weekend as Tropical Storm Cristobal makes its way to Louisiana,” Edwards warned residents in a tweet.
Windows were boarded up in New Orleans hours before Cristobal’s expected landfall. Though the streets were mostly empty, those still running errands were not too concerned with the impending storm.
CR Holloway, 83, a French Quarter resident, wore a face mask as he shopped for sesame seeds for a dinner party he plans to host Monday evening. When asked about the potential for flooding in the city, he said his thoughts are more occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for police changes than they are with Cristobal.
“The storm seems like the lesser of all evils” Holloway said.
Art gallery owner Vina Nguyen also framed the storm in the larger context of events that have rocked her city.
Like many shop owners in downtown New Orleans, Nguyen boarded up her art gallery last week to protect from the protests against police brutality as much as the storm. Before that, the gallery was closed because of the pandemic.
“It’s crazy what we’re going through with the pandemic, the protests and now a tropical storm,” Nguyen said.
Brandon Smith of Biloxi, Mississippi, said he always boards up before a storm.
“We learned a powerful and expensive lesson with (Hurricane) Katrina, and I suppose I’m a little paranoid about the storms these days,” he said. “It’s always inconvenient to drag the boards out of the shed, but a few hours of preparation goes a long way.”
Smith said his family home, which is near the Tchoutacabouffa River, is 15 feet above sea level, so he does not expect to see flooding from Cristobal.
“But I try to take every precaution to protect the house against flying debris,” he said.
Miller reported from Arlington, Virginia; Reyes from New York.
Contributing: Lici Beveridge, The Hattiesburg American; Grace Pateras, The Lafayette Daily Advertiser; The Associated Press