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FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA

535 AM CST SAT MAR 3 2001



A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR SOUTHEAST AND EAST

CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI.



SOME OF THE MORE MAJOR CITIES WITHIN THE WATCH AREA ARE...BATON

ROUGE METRO...HAMMOND...COVINGTON...MANDEVILLE...SLIDELL...

BOGALUSA...NEW ORLEANS METRO...HOUMA...GULFPORT...BILOXI...LIBERTY...

MCCOMB AND TYLERTOWN.



NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE SPREAD ACROSS THE LOWER

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY IN THE PAST 18 TO 24 HOURS. HEAVIEST RAINFALL

OVER NIGHT OCCURRED IN A BAND FROM ST JOHN-THE-BAPTIST PARISH

NORTHEAST ACROSS ST TAMMANY PARISH AND PEARL RIVER COUNTY. A FEW

RAINFALL AMOUNTS REACHED 3 INCHES. MOST OF THE WESTERN AND

NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE WATCH AREA RECEIVED FROM ONE TO THREE

INCHES SINCE FRIDAY MORNING.



EARLY MORNING RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATED ANOTHER AREA OF

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST FROM THE GULF INTO

SOUTHERN LOUISIANA WITH ADDITIONAL SHOWERS FORMING WEST OF THIS AREA.

A STRONG UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE MOVING EASTWARD FROM WEST TEXAS AND

NORTHEASTERN MEXICO COMBINED WITH A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE

AREA BY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CONTINUE THE THREAT OF WIDESPREAD

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS.

ADDITIONAL RAINS OF 3 INCHES OR MORE WILL BE POSSIBLE IN SOME

LOCATIONS TODAY BEFORE DIMINISHING FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON AND

EVENING. ISOLATED STORM TOTALS OF 6 INCHES OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE AS

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TRAIN OVER THE SAME AREA. WITH SATURATED

SOILS ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY POND IN LOW LYING OR POORLY

DRAINED AREAS OR RUN OFF INTO BAYOUS...CREEKS AND RIVERS. SOME

RIVERS ARE ALREADY IN FLOOD OR WILL BE IN A FEW DAYS. SOME FLOODING

WAS REPORTED OVERNIGHT IN ST TAMMANY PARISH AND PEARL RIVER COUNTY

WITH STREET FLOODING IN A FEW OTHER PARISHES.



A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR

EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND POTENTIAL FLOODING.  PERSON IN THE WATCH AREA

SHOULD BE AWARE OF HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE AREA AND BE PREPARED TO

MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND SHOULD FLOODING BECOME IMMINENT.  MOTORISTS

SHOULD AVOID ENTERING AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.



STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV...CABLE TELEVISION OR

RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS

HEAVY RAIN AND FLOOD EVENT.

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