Twin States Weather Blog

Regional Highlights...

Here's a rundown of what Katrina has done on a regional basis, courtesy of Jon Pace at Thunder 92.7 in Anniston, Alabama...

LOUISIANA:

- At least two breaches in levees allowed water from Lake Pontchartrain to inundate sections of New Orleans. Dozens of people rescued from roofs and attics.
- Highest wind in New Orleans estimated at about 100 miles-per-hour.
- Some 370-thousand customers estimated without power in southeast Louisiana; number expected to rise. New Orleans water unsafe to drink without boiling.
- Entire city of New Orleans, city of 485-thousand, ordered evacuated before storm struck. Mayor Ray Nagin estimated 80 percent of the city's residents left.
_- About ten-thousand took shelter in New Orleans Superdome arena, where storm ripped two holes in the vast roof.
- New Orleans police made several arrests for looting.

: MISSISSIPPI:

- As many as 80 deaths possible, said Governor Haley Barbour. That includes estimated 50 people in coastal Harrison County, with about 30 of those at one beach-side apartment complex in Biloxi.
- At least 450-thousand customers without power.
- Casinos that dot the coast are closed. Emergency officials had reports of water reaching the third floors of some of the barge-mounted casinos.
- More than 16-hundred Mississippi National Guardsmen activated.
- Quote: ``The devastation down there is just enormous,'' Barbour on early morning television reports.

: ALABAMA:

- Two deaths.
- More than a half-million homes and businesses without power.
- Flooding reached 11 feet in Mobile, matching record set in 1917, according to National Weather Service. Water up to roofs of cars in downtown Mobile and bayou communities. Piers ransacked and grand homes flooded along Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.
- Major bridge over the Mobile River closed after it was struck by an oil drilling platform that floated away from a shipyard.
- Quote: ``She said she was in water up to her chin,'' Kim Stringfellow said of woman and five children brought to shelter at church in Bayou La Batre.

: GEORGIA:

- One person was killed in a car accident as stormy weather moved through the western part of the state.
- Some six-thousand-300 customers were without power Tuesday morning.
- More than 30 buildings were damaged or destroyed in west Georgia's Carroll County.

: TENNESSEE:

- Flash flood warnings were in effect across western Tennessee, where up to three inches of rain fell Monday night.
- About 75-thousand customers were without power.
- Dozens of school systems canceled classes, including Nashville-area schools.
- Thousands of evacuees from Mississippi and Louisiana sought shelter in Tennessee. No evacuations in Tennessee.

: KENTUCKY:

Most of Kentucky was under a flood watch until Wednesday morning.

FLORIDA:

- Deaths: 11, according to state tally on South Florida strike last week.
- 77-thousand customers were without power Tuesday morning in the Panhandle, hit by eastern edge of storm Monday. In South Florida, 155-thousand customers still without power Tuesday morning.

: MORE SPECIFIC ON SOUTH ALABAMA.....
: -- Floodwaters that engulfed Mobile are receding today, leaving a muddy sludge on downtown streets. The remnants of Hurricane Katrina, now a tropical depression, lashed northern parts of the state overnight, leaving about 718-thousand customers without power. At Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, people are being allowed to return to their property in some places, but it could be later in the week for others at Gulf Shores because of downed power lines and extensive flooding in Orange Beach.
It's not immediately known how much of the resort would be back in business by Labor Day weekend, but wind damage appears to be minimal.
At the Dog River Bridge marina, sailing masts pointed in all directions and some boats floated into wooded areas.
In Mobile, curbsides are littered with tree debris. Police and volunteers directed traffic at intersections.
This afternoon, Governor Riley and Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby plan to fly over the coastal area.
President Bush has declared parts of southwest Alabama federal disaster areas. Federal and state aid will be available to help governments in Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Choctaw and Sumter counties.

: Crews hope to plug a broken levee in New Orleans with three-thousand-pound sand bags dropped from helicopters.
: -- The Superdome is getting more residents. Despite very poor conditions at the Louisiana Superdome, National Guard troops have brought in more refugees who are trying to escape rising water in New Orleans.
: --A spokeswoman describes Jefferson Parish as a ``very dangerous'' place.

Jackie Bauer says there's gas leaks everywhere, water needs to be boiled, there's no commercial power, no pumping stations and the water's toxic.
: --Governor Blanco says the devastation being seen today in New Orleans is worse than anyone had feared. Blanco says ``many lives have been lost,'' but there are no firm figures yet.
: MS AP....
: --As dawn broke over the ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast this morning, rescuers in boats and helicopters furiously searched for survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The governor says the death toll in one Mississippi county alone could be as high as 80.
: --The Mississippi Department of Transportation says the following roads are impassable due to debris and power lines blocking travel:

Interstate 10 from Louisiana to Alabama.
U-S 90 from Louisiana to Alabama.
U-S Highway 49 open only to emergency vehicles from Jackson to Gulfport.
Interstate 59 closed from Meridian to Picayune.
MDOT said Interstates 20 and 55 are open but motorists are asked to exercise caution.

posted by WTOK Weather Staff @ 12:09 PM