Tropical Storm Barry is gaining strength as it reaches the Louisiana coastline, Governor John Bel Edwards held a press conference yesterday for an update.
"We're anticipating a Category 1 Hurricane at landfall which we believe will be at Saturday morning," Edwards explained. "And it will be in the central coastal area in and around Morgan City."
Edwards emphasized that the storm will be a major weather event bringing heavy amounts of rainfall which will likely result in flooding. He requested a federal emergency disaster declaration ahead of the storm, President Trump declared a Federal
Emergency Disaster last night. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for some Louisiana coastal communities as the storm strengthens. Rainfall amounts are expected to be as much as 10 to 25 inches in some areas. The National Hurricane Center reports Barry is about 80 miles off Louisiana’s coast moving at 5mph with 50mph sustained winds, and is expected to make landfall sometime Saturday morning.