Storms

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California braces for dangerous heat as wildfire battle continues

California is bracing for another dangerously warm weekend, with dry winds, parched vegetation, and triple-digit temperatures threatening to ignite new fires and complicating containment efforts in an embattled state.

With only a few weeks’ reprieve after a record heatwave in early September, firefighters have made progress in containing the dozens of blazes tearing across the region. But fatigued crews – many of whom have spent weeks fighting on the frontline – are preparing for a potentially rough week ahead.

Red flag warnings have been issued across northern California from Saturday through Monday. “Even if you live on the coast or in the city, you’re going to feel the heat Monday,” Drew Tuma, a local ABC meteorologist, said. “I expect some places to hit 106F, 107F Monday – easily.”

Heat isn’t the only concern. Gusty winds and low humidity are expected to elevate extreme fire dangers into early October, especially as swaths of the state experience “severe drought”, according to analysts with the US Department of Agriculture.

In northern and central areas, the strongest winds were forecast to occur from Saturday night into Sunday morning, followed by another burst Sunday night into Monday. In southern California, meteorologists anticipate very hot and dry weather conditions with weak to locally moderate Santa Ana winds on Monday.

The Pacific Gas & Electric utility warned it may have to shut off power to areas where gusts of wind could damage its equipment or hurl debris into lines that could ignite flammable vegetation. The utility posted a power cut “watch alert” for Saturday evening through Monday morning for about 21,000 customers in portions of northern Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties.

The heat isn’t just weather – it’s part of a trend. Nasa researchers who document the rising temperatures report that the fires and the conditions that cause them are going to get worse.

“Heatwaves are becoming more frequent, lasting longer, and increasing in night-time temperature and humidity, particularly in urban regions such as the Los Angeles basin,” reported Glynn Hulley, a climate scientist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who co-authored a study this year on increasingly intense heatwaves. Los Angeles recorded its highest temperature ever – 121F – in early September.

Hulley and his team raised concerns about a troubling upward trend in night-time temperatures. An overnight reprieve of cool air can help curb some of the impact of heat, giving firefighters the chance to contain big burns and vulnerable populations the ability to recover.

“The heatwaves that end up killing a lot of people are really warm, humid nighttime heatwaves, and they are going to become more common,” added Brian Kahn, a co-author on the study and researcher at the laboratory. “Night-time is normally your chance to cool off, but now there’s less relief from the heatwave.”: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ures-wildfires

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Governor declares state of emergency as Zogg and Glass wildfires race through California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Monday night after wildfires tore through Napa, Sonoma and Shasta counties, killing at least three people and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

The fast moving Zogg Fire, burning near Redding, has scorched more than 30,000 acres since igniting Sunday afternoon.

Newsom cautioned that it may converge with the nearby August Complex Fire, already the largest in California's history.

The cause of the Zogg Fire has not yet been determined, according to an update from CalFire Shasta Trinity Unit (SHU) late Monday night.

Three people have died as a result of the wildfire, Shasta County Sheriff-Coroner Eric Magrini said at a news conference on Monday. Details of the deaths were not provided.

The blaze also has destroyed 146 structures and threatens another 1,538, according to the update. It is 0% contained.

The Zogg Fire is one of two fast-moving fires in northern California that sparked on Sunday.: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/29/us/ca...day/index.html

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California hits milestone with 4 million acres burned in historic wildfires

California is poised to hit a fearsome milestone: 4 million acres burned this year by wildfires that have killed 30 people and incinerated hundreds of homes in what is already the worst fire season on record.

Flames have scorched an area larger than Connecticut and fire crews at a blaze in the northern wine country were on high alert as forecasters warned of red flag conditions of extreme fire danger into Saturday morning.

Winds up to 30 mph (48 kph) were forecast to push through the hills in Napa and Sonoma counties as the Glass Fire, exploded in size earlier in the week, continued to threaten more than 28,000 homes and other buildings.

“It’s a time of nervousness,” said Paul Gullixon, a spokesman for Sonoma County.

Winds were blowing at higher elevations on the western side of the fire and crews expected a long battle to keep flames from jumping containment lines and spot fires from leaping ahead to spark new blazes.

“It’s going to be a big firefight for us over the next 36 hours,” said Billy See, an assistant chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

More crews and equipment were deployed in and around Calistoga, a town of 5,000 people known for hot springs, mud baths and wineries in the hills of Napa County about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

The area was also experiencing high temperatures and thick smoke that fouled the air throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Gov. Gavin Newsom toured fire-ravaged Napa County on Thursday and said the state was putting “all we have in terms of resources” into firefighting, particularly over the 36 hours of the wind period.

“I’ve got four young kids in elementary school and I can’t imagine for the children and parents, the families, that may be seeing these images, what’s going through your minds,” said Newsom, standing in front of a burned-out elementary school building.

“We’re in it for the long haul. We’re not just here for a moment. We’re here to rebuild and to reimagine your school,” he said, adding: “We have your backs.”

The Glass Fire is the fourth major blaze in the region in three years and comes ahead of the third anniversary of an Oct. 8, 2017, wildfire that killed 22 people.

Newsom said people there have been “torn asunder by wildfires seemingly every single year, this drumbeat, where people are exhausted, concerned, anxious about their fate and their future.”

Around the state, 17,000 firefighters were battling nearly two dozen major blazes. Virtually all the damage has been done since mid-August, when five of the six largest fires in state history erupted. Lightning strikes caused some of the most devastating blazes.

Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.

Cal Fire Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox said wildfires have scorched 3.9 million acres in California since Aug. 15. That figure, which works out to over 6,000 square miles (15,500 square kilometers), is astonishing even in a state that has had its fair share of fires.

“It’s likely that over the next day or two we will crest the 4-million-acre mark. The biggest year before this year was 1.54 million,” Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said. “We are dwarfing that previous record and we have a lot of season left to go.”

Fire officials said the Glass Fire had first priority. Since erupting last Sunday, the fire has destroyed nearly 600 buildings, including 220 homes and nearly the same number of commercial structures.

Some 80,000 people were under evacuation orders, which were expanded on Thursday.

Fire and public safety officials warned that more evacuations are possible. They asked the public to remain vigilant, stay out of evacuation zones and quit demanding that officers let them back into off-limits neighborhoods.

About 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the north of wine country, the Zogg Fire, which also erupted during Sunday’s high winds and grew quickly, has killed four people.

The Shasta County sheriff’s office released two of their names Thursday: Karin King, 79, who was found on the road where the fire started, and Kenneth Vossen, 52, who suffered serious burns and later died in a hospital. Both were from the small town of Igo.

The fire had destroyed 153 buildings, about half of them homes. It was 39% contained.: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/cali...wildfires.html

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Two dead and 24 missing after floods in France and Italy

Record rain in mountainous region destroys bridges, blocks roads and cuts off communities

Flooding from record rains in a mountainous region of France and Italy has killed two people in Italy and left at least 24 people in the two countries missing.

A storm that moved overnight across south-eastern France and then northern Italy caused flooding on both sides of the border, destroying bridges, blocking roads and isolating communities.

In Italy’s northern region of Val d’Aosta, a firefighter was killed during a rescue operation. In Vercelli province, a body was found near to where a man had been swept away by flood waters late on Friday.

Sixteen people were reported missing in Italy, all but one of them travellers in cars on the Col de Tende high mountain pass between France and Italy, according to civil protection authorities.

They included two adults from Germany driving with their 11-year-old and six-year-old grandchildren, and a pair of brothers returning from France.

A spokesman for Italy’s firefighters said a search was ongoing for a missing shepherd who was pulled into flood waters on the Col de Tende.

The spokesman, Luca Cari, said he suspected that the other people reported missing in Italy had lost phone contact, and they were not currently thought to be in imminent danger.

The situation on the high mountain pass was complicated by the fact that French emergency responders could not access their side of a tunnel due to flood damage, Cari said. Italian firefighters were searching the French side for people whose route may have been blocked.

In northern Italy’s Piedmont region, overnight rainfall reached levels not recorded since 1958. As much as 630mm (24.8in) of rain fell in a 24-hour period, according to the Italian civil protection agency.

Hundreds of rescue operations were under way. Eleven campers were saved in Vercelli province, where flood waters hit 20-year highs. Alpine rescue squads came to the aid of seven people in houses cut off by flooding at Terme di Valdieri.

In south-east France, almost a year’s average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours in the mountainous area surrounding the city of Nice.

Local firefighters said at least eight people were missing, including two firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by water when the road collapsed during a rescue operation.

Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, expressed his “emotion and sympathy” for the families. He said more than 100 homes had been destroyed or severely damaged. Firefighters said several dozen people were evacuated from their homes overnight.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, expressed gratitude to rescuers. “Together we will get through this,” he said.: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ly-record-rain

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2 California wildfires remain out of control

Firefighters Saturday are continuing to battle two out-of-control California blazes that have scorched almost 120,000 acres.

The Glass Fire in wine country has burned 62,360 acres and is 10% contained, according to Cal Fire LNU.

The deadly Zogg Fire blazing in Shasta and Tehama counties has burned 56,305 acres and is 57% contained as of Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire. Four people have died as a result of the vegetation fire that started Sunday. The cause is still under investigation.

The weather forecast doesn't provide much hope for fire-ravaged California.

The SCU and LNU lightning Complex Fires that are now contained were the third and fourth largest wildfires in California's history, charring an area close to the size of Rhode Island. They burned for more than six weeks before firefighters were able to bring them to 100% containment.

Temperatures will get better going into next week. But no rain is forecast for much of the western half of the country. Heat advisories are posted for 25 million people in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Three-quarters of the West is under drought conditions, and no rainfall is expected until the end of next week, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackleford.

This year, over 8,100 wildfires have burned nearly 4 million acres, according to Cal Fire. Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated across the state and 30 people have died.: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/us/ca...day/index.html

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#26

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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California Wildfires Have Burned 4 Million Acres And The Season Isn't Over Yet

California hit a grim milestone on Sunday as the total number of acres burned this wildfire season crossed 4 million, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The agency said that since it started recording the amount of land burned in a single season the state had never surpassed 2 million acres until this year.

"The 4 million mark is unfathomable. It boggles the mind, and it takes your breath away," Scott McLean, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, told The Associated Press.

As of Sunday, Cal Fire says the state has seen more than 8,200 fires this year, with 31 fatalities and more than 8,454 structures destroyed. Nearly 17,000 firefighters are still working to contain at least 23 major fires in the state.

The August Complex Fire continues to be the biggest in the state and has been active for 48 days. Fire activity increased on Saturday as the fire got hold of more oxygen when winds cleared some of the smoke "lid" over the fire. The fire was 51% contained and covering an area of 985,304 acres, as of Sunday morning.

The Glass Fire started last Sunday and continues to burn in California's Napa and Sonoma counties. As of Sunday morning the fire covered 63,885 acres and was 17% contained. Windy conditions as well as warm and dry weather and low fuel moisture are factors in the fire's active behavior, Cal Fire said in a statement.

The Zogg Fire also started last Sunday and continues to be active, covering 56,305 acres and is 68% contained. Cal Fire said firefighters would continue to increase containment on Sunday as some areas reopened with the lifting of some evacuation orders.

With a world that's getting hotter, wildfires and other natural disasters are getting more destructive. And while officials are battling the actual blazes, this year they've also had to fight back against rumors surrounding the cause of the fires.: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/04/92015...-isnt-over-yet

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‘Wall of orange’: Bushfire razes dozens of homes on remote NZ island

A bushfire has destroyed up to 50 homes in New Zealand, authorities announced on Monday, saying it was a miracle no one was hurt as “a wall of orange” razed most of a remote South Island village.

The blaze began in a mountain forest early on Sunday morning and fanned by strong winds, it swept through the village of Lake Ohau, forcing residents to flee for their lives.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the unpredictable winds made fighting the fire “challenging”, and by Monday afternoon it had razed 4600ha.

“Of the 60 or 70 houses, we believe that the majority have gone,” he told Radio New Zealand. “The reality is that it’s a minor miracle no one has been harmed. If it had been anther 15-20 minutes, it would have been a very different story.”

Mr Kircher described how residents awoke to find an inferno bearing down on them.

“I talked to a gentleman who got up to his dog (barking) in the early hours, opened his door and there was this wall of orange,” he said. “He was the one who set off the town fire alarm and helped to wake people … there’s certainly some scary tales about how close it came to being an absolute disaster with fatalities.”

Bushfires are relatively common on the South Island at this time of the year but the scale and intensity of the Ohau fire have been unusual. By Monday afternoon, the firefront had moved far enough from the village to allow evacuated residents a brief trip back to assess the damage.

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare, who accompanied them, described seeing burnt-out cars and gutted homes. “The term I’ve heard used to describe it is a war zone,” said. “It’s clear to me that there’s no rhyme or reason when it comes to fire — one house is affected, the neighbour isn’t … you can feel a sense of loss.”

FENZ said 11 helicopters and eight fire crews were attempting to contain the flames. With light rain forecast, there were hopes it would be under control by Tuesday night.

New Zealand this year experienced its warmest winter on record, which government science body NIWA said was consistent with a long-term trend of rising temperatures linked to climate change.

University of Auckland environmental scientist George Perry said it was difficult to attribute a specific event such as the Lake Ohau fire to climate change. But he added that New Zealand had experienced more large bushfires than usual in recent years, pointing to changes in the three main factors affecting wildfires — fuel, climate and ignition sources.

“We would expect more such events under climate change, especially as conditions become warmer and drier, and we see more droughts,” he said.: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wor...a0496f6df6f473

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Delta

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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Delta update [forecasting major hurricane (cat 3) by the time makes landfall on the US coast, Thursday]

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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Delta update

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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Delta unpdate…..

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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Delta update…

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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Hurricane Delta's Winds Now At 105 MPH As Storm Approaches Louisiana Coast

Hurricane Delta will bring a "life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds, and significant flooding" to the U.S. Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service says. The storm, which has weakened slightly, is near the upper limit for a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 105 mph.

The hurricane is forecast to make landfall in the late afternoon or evening on Friday. The National Weather Service office in New Orleans is warning residents, "Worsening conditions are expected through the day."

Delta is currently 65 miles south-southwest of Cameron, La., the National Hurricane Center said in a 3 p.m. ET update. The center of the storm is expected to make landfall just east of that town, which was hit hard by Hurricane Laura in August. The system is moving north-northeast at 14 mph.

"The good news is that Delta is moving relatively quickly," so its torrential rains aren't expected to linger in the area, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news briefing early Friday afternoon.

Edwards stressed the need for people to shelter in place, obey local emergency orders and carefully follow safety precautions for using a generator. The governor noted that of the 30 deaths the state now attributes to Laura, nine were from carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Authorities have told people in the barrier islands and coastal towns of Louisiana to leave," NPR's John Burnett reports from Lafayette. "There's a mandatory evacuation order in Lake Charles, which has not recovered from Category 4 Hurricane Laura. Neighborhoods are empty, and blue tarps precariously cover roofs torn off only weeks ago."

By noon local time Friday, an observation buoy about 25 miles east of Galveston, Texas, was reporting sustained winds up to 52 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph.

"It's a very healthy storm," NHC Director Ken Graham said in an online briefing Friday morning.

Noting satellite imagery that shows clouds and vapor fanning out along the edges of the system, Graham added, "The air coming in, building that convection, and all those winds, and then the air coming out — you can see this thing basically breathing."

A hurricane warning is in effect from High Island, Texas, east of Galveston, to Morgan City, La., south of Baton Rouge. Delta's rains have been falling on southwestern Louisiana and southeast Texas. It's also bringing a storm surge that could cause water to rise 7 to 11 feet aboveground.

Hurricane warnings center on the coast, but they extend well inland because of Delta's large size. Tropical storm warnings cover an even larger area, up to Louisiana's northeast border with Arkansas.

As forecasters predicted, the storm has weakened slightly before making landfall, as it meets cooler waters and less favorable wind conditions near the Louisiana coast.

"Regardless, Delta is forecast to be near major hurricane intensity when it makes landfall and significant impacts are expected," the National Hurricane Center said.

Storms of similar intensity commonly cause major damage to homes, snap or uproot trees, and lead to widespread power outages. Officials had been urging people in the warning zones to prepare for the hurricane's arrival, saying conditions would be too dangerous to complete such work on Friday.

Delta's strength has sharply fluctuated since it became a hurricane on Monday — including explosive growth early on, from 40 mph Monday morning to a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday with winds of 130 mph.

Despite that early strength, the storm was relatively small. But it grew larger as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters.

Delta's center is now projecting hurricane-force winds outward for up to 40 miles, and tropical-storm-force winds for up to 160 miles — increasing the area for potential damage from the storm and any tornadoes it might generate on land.: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/92214...ouisiana-coast

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Hurricane Delta makes a soggy, windy landfall in southwest Louisiana Friday evening

Hurricane Delta slammed ashore in Cameron Parish around 6 p.m. Friday, accompanied by Category 2 winds of 100 mph and storm surge expected to reach as high as 11 feet along a part of Louisiana’s coastline that was still recovering from the effects of Category 4 Hurricane Laura six weeks ago.

Delta was already losing intensity as it made landfall, but not quickly enough to make a significant difference in its immediate effects, said forecasters with the National Hurricane Center. At 6:11 p.m., Friday, the National Weather Service reported sustained winds of 62 mph and a gust of 95 mph at the Lake Charles airport, on the eastern, less-windy side of the storm.

By 7 p.m. the National Hurricane Service downgraded the storm to a Category 1, with wind speeds of 90 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward to 40 miles from the storm's eye and tropical storm force winds extend out to 160 miles.

"The eye structure on the radar has become less organized, with about 50% of the eyewall remaining in the northern semicircle," said Senior Hurricane Specialist Jack Beven in a 4 p.m. discussion message just hours before landfall.

He said increasing vertical wind shear was disrupting its cloud structure and cooler water temperatures along Delta's path would add to the weakening, but Delta was still expected to pack quite a punch.

Delta became the record 10th named storm to make landfall in the United States in a single hurricane season.

A half-day before landfall, Delta had already flexed its watery muscles well to the east, with an early outer band pouring more than 9 inches of rain on Baton Rouge, Denham Springs and Zachary late Thursday and early Friday, causing widespread flooding. Baton Rouge officials had to respond to 23 calls for assistance, including nine flooded homes and the remainder cars stranded in water.

More of the same was wrung out over southwest Louisiana on Friday.

Forecasters with the Lake Charles office of the National Weather Service issued a spate of flash flood warnings as Delta’s main outer bands began coming ashore, dumping as much as 6 inches of rain in few hours in Acadia, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. Martin, and Vermilion parishes. Multiple streets were under water in Lake Charles Friday night, where 8.53 inches of rain had fallen through 6:25 p.m., and weather service officials reported several homes flooded in the nearby Moss Bluff community.

By late Friday, flash flooding also was reported by the Lake Charles office of the National Weather Service near Esler Regional Airport in Alexandria, where several vehicles were stranded, in the town of Iowa, where water was reported in several homes, and in Sulphur, where flooded streets were reported in several locations.

The Weather Prediction Center warned that another 8 inches of rain was expected over the entire southwestern and south-central coast and well inland Friday night.

“We’re talking 10-plus inches of rain in some locations,” said Lake Charles National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones in a Friday afternoon Facebook update.

By early Friday afternoon, tropical storm-force winds onshore resulted in numerous power outages reported by Entergy Corp. and other utility companies throughout southwestern and southern Louisiana.

During an early afternoon news conference, Gov. John Bel Edwards said thousands of National Guard troops, utility workers and other emergency responders were already on call to respond to Delta’s expected damage.

State agencies skilled in search-and-rescue were standing by with high-water vehicles, boats and aircraft, and National Guard troops were staffing warehouses that were being stocked with tarps, food and water. Convoys of trucks were preparing to fan out to more than a dozen distribution sites once the storm passed.

“Louisiana Guard is ready. We have over 2,500 soldiers and airmen who are in place and we’re ready to respond when called upon,” said National Guard Brig. Gen. Lee Hopkins.

Edwards said that as of midday Friday, the state was housing 9,537 evacuees, most still being sheltered after Laura’s devastating damage in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in August. However, about 800 new Delta evacuees had already reported to the state’s first-stop mega-shelter in Alexandria, where they were expected to stay at least overnight to determine whether they could return home after Delta’s dangers subside on Saturday or Sunday.

If they need longer-term shelter, most will be placed in hotel rooms. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump granted a federal disaster declaration that will allow the additional cost of sheltering in hotels to be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

More than 6,000 Laura evacuees are staying in hotels in New Orleans, with several thousand housed in other locations. Edwards said the state still has access to more than 3,000 hotel rooms in the New Orleans area to handle Delta evacuees.

“We really don’t know until we see the amount of damage that was sustained from Hurricane Delta,” Edwards said. “We don’t anticipate right now that we’ll get to such a large number that we won’t be able to house them in non-congregate shelters.”

“We don’t expect these individuals to be in the congregate shelters for more than 24 hours at the longest,” Edwards said.

Some residents in communities along the state’s southwest coast were still preparing for Delta’s effects on Friday morning.

On North Parkerson near Interstate 10 in Crowley, Mike Declouette supervised a team of three construction workers boarding up a car dealership as Delta’s rain became heavier. Declouette said the company he works for, D&D Construction, had been busy until midnight the previous day with last-minute orders to secure properties.

Around 9 a.m. on Friday, Ted McIntyre strolled the pier at North Pier Marina in Delcambre after securing his 77-foot houseboat, which he and his wife use for parties and recreation. McIntyre said he had thrown anchors in the opposite direction of the pier so the boat would lean away.

“You want to be in a position where your boat doesn’t end up being damaged from the pier, and you certainly don’t want to damage the pier. There was a lot of money spent to build this facility,” McIntyre said.

In the Baker and Zachary area near Baton Rouge, where rainfall swelled the Joor River overnight, 68-year-old Estelle Jarvis said as much as a foot of water entered her home near the intersection of Groom and McHugh roads.

"It's going down right now, but I hope to God it don't come back," Jarvis said, speaking outside her house, surrounded by her children and other family who had come to help. "If it comes back, then we're going to have to leave."

In the New Orleans area, news that Delta would not make landfall farther east was greeted with relief.

"We’re receiving increasingly encouraging news about Hurricane Delta, so this is definitely a better day in the city of New Orleans but at the same time we remain prepared for any adverse weather that comes our way," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a press conference Friday morning.

A voluntary evacuation was called earlier in the week for areas outside the region's hurricane protection system, where a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet is possible. Cantrell said the city has been in "constant contact" with those residents.

Delta was expected lose intensity as it traveled northeast across Jefferson Davis, Evangeline and Rapides parishes, reaching tropical storm strength in Avoyelles Parish at about 7 a.m. Saturday before moving into Mississippi later in the day, said Roger Erickson, a warning coordination meteorologist in the weather service’s Lake Charles office.

Erickson expected storm surge accompanying Delta to stretch east of its center, with the highest amounts – more than 7 feet above ground level – to come onshore in eastern Cameron, Vermillion and Iberia parishes, from Grand Cheniere to Intracoastal City. At Freshwater City in Vermilion Parish, water had risen to nearly 8 feet by 5 p.m. Friday.

“Every hurricane is different, and this one’s got a little bit of everything, threat of hurricane-force winds across a large section of the region. We’ve got the storm surge risk on top of that, and then the heavy rain threat – flash flooding – on top of that,” he said in a mid-day interview Friday.

“It’s moving so fast right now that it’s not going to lose too much speed before landfall,” he said. At 1:50 p.m., several hours before the storm’s highest winds were expected ashore, a gust of 78 mph was recorded at an offshore monitoring station a few miles south of Marsh Island. The Lake Charles airport measured a gust of 60 just after noon.: https://www.nola.com/news/environmen...14d0c4549.html