Francine roared ashore around 5 pm near Morgan City as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds, raking parts of Terrebonne Parish with powerful gusts. By 7 pm, the eye was roughly between Morgan City and Houma, moving rapidly northeast at 17 mph. Its sustained maximum winds had decreased to 85 mph, making it a Category 1, but it was expected to quickly lose steam.
Baton Rouge and New Orleans were being pelted by waves of sideways rain and wind as the worst of the storm began to bear down on those cities. It was too soon to say what kind of damage the storm may be causing as it advanced inland.
"This general motion should continue, taking the system across southeastern Louisiana tonight and across Mississippi Thursday and Thursday night," National Weather Service forecasters said.
While smaller than recent monster hurricanes that have hit Louisiana, Francine was still capable of inflicting serious damage. Residents took shelter and evacuation orders were issued for areas outside the hurricane protection system, though some chose to ride it out there.
Wind gusts of up to 110 mph in the Houma area and 73 mph in Baton Rouge and New Orleans posed risks to homes and power lines.
Forecasters also warned of the possibility of tornadoes, particularly east of Francine's eye, and were watching closely to see if the wobbly storm would drift farther to the east, posing greater risks to the hurricane-weary River Parishes. Flash flooding warnings were issued in New Orleans on Wednesday night and some areas began to flood.
Forecasters said storm surge could reach 5-10 feet along the state's central coast and 4-6 feet in Lake Pontchartrain. Rainfall of between 4-8 inches was forecast to be widespread, while some places could see up to a foot.
That was a particular concern in New Orleans, where Sewerage and Water Board pumps could struggle to keep up if the worst predictions come to pass.
President Joe Biden preemptively declared an emergency for the state, following up on Gov. Jeff Landry's request, clearing the way for additional federal assistance. The Louisiana National Guard pre-positioned hundreds of high-water vehicles and dozens of boats and helicopters, as well as stockpiles of water, food and tarps.
"The time to evacuate has now passed," Jacques Thibodeaux, head of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said at a late morning news conference. "It is time to go to ground and hunker down."
Landry said, "It is on our doorstep as we speak."
"Remember after the storm is over, please remain in place" to allow utility and emergency response access to roads, the governor said.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents to be indoors by early evening at the latest, though streets were already largely empty by the afternoon as heavy rains drenched the city.
"Hold the line, stay focused, stay prepared," Cantrell said Wednesday afternoon.
'A lot of stress'
While Francine was far weaker than Hurricane Ida, the Category 4 storm that ravaged Louisiana's coast in 2021, memories of it drove fears of what was in store.
Melinda Kelly lost her mobile home in Luling during Ida, and she, her niece and son finally returned home in August. Early Wednesday, she braced for the possibility that she'd lose it all over again.
"It was exciting to start new. Now this," said Kelly, her brow creased with worry as she filled her car with gas outside the boarded-up Birdie's Food and Fuel on River Road.
In pine-forested Tangipahoa Parish, where Ida felled countless trees and caused flooding in areas near rivers, bayous and Lake Maurepas, residents worried that even Francine's less-powerful wind could set back their recovery.
"Because it's been raining for at least a week, everything is saturated," said state Rep. Kim Coates, R- Ponchatoula, whose district encompasses portions of southern Tangipahoa hit hard by Ida. "There's a lot of stress, worry. People are worried about the trees."
Francine's strength
Throughout Francine's quick but meandering progress this week at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters noted the storm's intensity would depend on conflicting factors.
It was fueled by exceptionally warm Gulf waters of more than 86 degrees, but also pulled in dry air from Mexico that prevented it from growing into a major hurricane. As it approached the Louisiana coast, wind shear was expected to disrupt the storm's ability to further strengthen, though it managed to intensify to a Category 2 before landfall.
Residents were taking no chances. Down Bayou Gauche in St. Charles Parish, fishers piled crab traps and hauled boats to safety as a steady rain fell on Wednesday. Several inches of water had already lapped over lush green shoulders onto the two-lane road that winds through the tiny fishing community.
Jason Lirette and a few of his neighbors got ready to secure a houseboat. He was supposed to be at work at the Dow Chemical plant in Taft, but decided to help his neighbors, as they had with his boat, which he described as "the little, ugly one."
"I just told them I'm not coming," he said of his job, shrugging.
The storm's shift eastward Tuesday put the Morgan City area at heightened risk and left some with little time to prepare. In Berwick, Bryan Crochet, who was at work until Tuesday night, was among a few residents boarding his home's windows early Wednesday.
"I didn't think it was going to be that bad," he said as a light rain fell.
'Rolling the dice'
In highly vulnerable lower Terrebonne Parish, where some of the state's most extreme coastal land loss has occurred, residents fretted over what kind of punch the storm would pack.
Stephen Miguez, 49, surveyed the bayou as rain pounded the water on the southern end of Chauvin, where the land has been whittled down to a thin strip. Nearby, a group of shrimpers who described a harrowing experience riding out Ida on their boats, said they won't do that again.
Miguez and his wife, Danell, were preparing to tie up their small shrimp boat and ride out the storm in their camper.
"We're just rolling the dice with this one," Stephen Miguez said. "I have to stay to babysit the boat. I lose my boat, everything is done."
The risk extended to the Baton Rouge area, with Francine's forecast path showing it taking aim there after moving inland. Two FEMA search and rescue support groups were stationed in the newly formed City of St. George near Baton Rouge.
Crews from Entergy Louisiana and Cleco Power had also pre-positioned trucks, linemen and equipment so they are ready to restore power after the storm passes.
In St. Tammany Parish, at risk of flooding from Lake Pontchartrain, parish council member Joe Impastato planned to drive through his district in Lacombe in a high-water vehicle and keep an eye out for anyone needing assistance.
"We're not going to let someone not have a place to go," he said, adding that, during Hurricane Katrina, they pulled the doors off of a locked school building with a firetruck to convert it into a shelter.
Tracy Zeringue, 61, a Slidell resident, was packing goods into her Jeep on Wednesday morning. She didn't plan to evacuate but would move her car if the waters rose.
"I've learned over the years at what point it's time to get out," she said.
In the French Quarter, even Bourbon Street was uncharacteristically subdued. At Pat O'Brien's Bar and Restaurant, a taped-up sign declared the purveyor of the famed "Hurricane" cocktail closed "due to weather."
Ponchos, an umbrella and a fan were about all that sales manager Ahmad Tanver had sold to 10 customers of Bourbon Gifts to Go over the course of the day. Tanver didn't sense much alarm among the few who remained.
"The people who are here are not too worried," said Tanver. "The friends and family — they are scared."
©2024 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
