Francine’s center moved inland on Thursday after making landfall as a category 2 hurricane and had weakened to a tropical storm and then a tropical depression leaving a trail of flooding and wind damage in its wake.
Francine will progressively deteriorate as it tracks across west-central Mississippi into the mid-south on Thursday and Friday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said, adding that the storm is forecast to spin down. On Thursday morning, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression, the National Weather Service said, and is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later on Thursday.
About 6-8in of rain fell in the New Orleans area, the National Weather Service said. A flash flood emergency warning of potential for catastrophic damage and a threat to life was briefly issued on Wednesday night for the area.
While no more rainfall was expected in Louisiana early on Thursday, “the area is already being impacted by flash flooding”, the weather service said.
As of Thursday morning, heavy rainfall was spreading across Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Weather Service, and wind gusts were possible for the next several hours.
A few tornadoes are possible on Thursday, weather officials added, mainly on Thursday morning and afternoon from the Florida Panhandle to north-central Alabama.
Francine slammed into the Louisiana coast on Wednesday evening with 100mph (155km/h) winds in Terrebonne parish, battering a fragile coastal region that has not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. It then moved at a fast clip toward New Orleans, pounding the city with torrential rains.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. TV news broadcasts from coastal communities showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing sea walls. Water poured into city streets amid blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed back and forth.
“It’s a little bit worse than what I expected, to be honest with you,” said Alvin Cockerham, fire chief of Morgan City, about 30 miles (50km) from where the storm’s center made landfall. “I pulled all my trucks back to the station. It’s too dangerous to be out there in this.”
According to Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist for the Weather Channel, Wednesday was a “top 10 wettest calendar day on record in New Orleans, wettest in almost nine years”.
In Lafourche parish, the sheriff said on Wednesday night that authorities rescued multiple families in the Thibodaux area who were trapped due to rising water following Hurricane Francine. A total of 26 people were rescued, authorities said, and most were transported to an emergency shelter.
A curfew is in effect in LaFourche parish until 10am local time. Other parishes, such as Terrebonne, also implemented curfews on Wednesday night, urging residents to remain off the roads and stay indoors.
Officials for St James parish, west of New Orleans, said that several roads and highways were impassable on Thursday morning, and received reports of of downed trees and power lines, flooding and structural damage on Wednesday night.
Classes at Louisiana State University were held remotely on Wednesday and schools officials said that classes would be remote again on Thursday, as the campus was closed due to Francine.
Power outages in Louisiana topped 390,000 early on Thursday, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us, with an additional 62,000 outages reported in Mississippi, and over 10,000 in Alabama.
In some areas, including Jefferson parish in Greater New Orleans, officials are urging residents to conserve water due to sewage concerns.
As of Thursday morning, storm surge warnings were in effect for the areas around the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi-Alabama border as well as Lake Maurepas in southern Louisiana, and Lake Pontchartrain, in south-eastern Louisiana.
Flash flood warnings remain in effect in areas of Mississippi and the Florida panhandle.
The New Orleans international airport said on social media that there was no significant damage to the terminal or runways and that though there are still many cancellations occurring, most airlines are expected to resume normal operations by late Thursday morning.
Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, said in a statement that as of Thursday morning, no injuries had been reported in the state so far, and that around 51,000 were still without power.
Reeves added that around 160 people used shelters on Wednesday night, and that damage assessments were set to begin on Thursday morning as several roads remained closed in coastal and central counties due to flooding.
“Heavy rain is expected to continue through at least this afternoon, so please continue to stay weather aware,” Reeves said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
