Live updates: Cristobal downgraded to tropical depression, more rain expected for MS Coast

You can follow here for the latest updates on Tropical Depression Cristobal as it threatens to bring wind, rain and storm surge to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Florida, the National Weather Service says.

June 8 updates

5:45 a.m.

Cristobal has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as the storm heads towards the Midwest.

Heavy rain, storm surge and flooding remain in the forecast for the Mississippi Gulf Coast through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in New Orleans.

Winds are moving at 28 mph near Biloxi Beach with gusts up to 44 mph.

June 7 updates

10 p.m.

In its 10 p.m. update, the National Hurricane Center warns the threat is not over from Cristobal.

“Although Cristobal has begun weakening, tropical-storm-force winds and life-threatening storm surge is expected to continue over a portion of the northern Gulf coast overnight.”

Heavy rains are lessening for Florida but will continue for the central Gulf Coast, the NHC said. A tropical storm warning and storm surge warning remains in effect.

“Widespread impacts including gusty winds, flash flooding, coastal flooding and isolated tornadoes tonight through tomorrow,” said the National Weather Service in Slidell.

After making landfall around 5 p.m., the storm’s center passed “very near New Orleans” and is expected to move north-northwest overnight.

Cristobal is forecast to be a tropical depression by Monday morning.

Winds are down to 40 kt, or just over 46 mph.

“Gradual weakening should occur overnight as the circulation continues to move over land,” the NHC said.

The heavy rains are swelling rivers, and the following are under flood warnings until Wednesday:

• Tchoutacabouffa River above D’Iberville
• Biloxi River near Lyman
• Wolf River above Gulfport
• Jourdan River at Kiln
• Pearl River

9 p.m.

As Cristobal drifts north over Louisiana, some dry air is giving the Mississippi Coast a break from the rain. But the National Weather Service in Slidell tweeted “Don’t put your guard down, more rain still expected.”

7:30 p.m.

The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport has registered 6.76 inches of rain over the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service. The airport at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi registered 6.33 inches.

The City of Biloxi reopened U.S. 90 and the Biloxi Bay bridge for traffic.

A car wreck on Interstate 10 eastbound near Cowan Road exit has caused a 55-minute traffic delay.

The Biloxi Lighthouse Pier was heavily damaged by Cristobal storm surge.

5:20 p.m. Sunday

The center of Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall at 5 p.m along the coast of southeast Louisiana.

It came in between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Grand Isle, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm has maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and caused massive street flooding and strong winds across Mississippi Sunday.

Storm surge and flash flood warnings are still in effect for South Mississippi.

4 p.m. Sunday

Tropical Storm Cristobal is centered about 65 miles south of New Orleans and moving at 7 mph, the National Weather Service forecast update says. Sustained winds are at 50 mph with higher gusts.

Storm surge warnings are in force from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Okaloosa/Walton County, Florida line, with tropical storm-force winds extending 205 miles. In South Mississippi, there is a flash-flood warning for the three Coast counties until 7:30 p..m.

A flash-flood warning is in effect until 7:30 p.m. for Harrison County, eastern Hancock County and central Jackson County.

Cristobal is expected to move inland across southeastern Louisiana Sunday afternoon through Monday morning, heading north across Arkansas and Missouri Monday afternoon into Tuesday.

U.S. 90 in Harrison County and other major roadways are flooded. Residents are advised to stay off the roads as a number of strandings have been reported.

2 p.m. Sunday

Flooding from Tropical Storm Cristobal has closed U.S. 90 from the Bay St. Louis Bridge to the Biloxi Bay Bridge connecting to Ocean Springs, the Mississippi Department of Transportation says.

Cristobal is nearing landfall in Louisiana, Harrison County Emergency Manager Rupert Lacy said.

The Mississippi Coast will experience heavy rain, tidal surge and flash flooding into the evening. he said. Storm-force winds extend outward 205 miles, mainly to the east of center.

“People need to go home and hunker down,” Lacy said. He said a number of motorists have been pulled from flooded cars in several cities and the county.

Flooding also has closed Beach Boulevard in Pascagoula and in Hancock County. Hancock County Emergency Manager Brian Adam said about 50 people are without power in the Lakeshore community. Power outtages also are being reported in Pascagoula, along with down traffic lights.

“People need to stay off the roads as these heavy feeder bands come in,” Lacy said. “If that water is across the road, they do not need to drive through it, nor do they need to be standing in it because of contaminants in it.”

The National Weather Service says an oil rig in the During rig 80 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, measured a sustained wind of 58 mph and a 64-mph gust at a 53 foot elevation.

Casinos in Harrison County remain open and are accessible from Interstate 110. The Silver Slipper Casino & Hotel also is open, although the Beach Boulevard entry is impassable.

“The road’s closed,” a hotel supervisor said, “so people that are here are here.”

12 p.m. Sunday

With rising tides, Tropical Storm Cristobal pushed storm surge over U.S. 90 in Biloxi east of Rodenberg Avenue, stranding a motorist who had to be rescued with a tow truck. Onlookers watched from the highway’s north side as police blocked off the road to thru traffic a Miramar Park.

Down the road, a Biloxi police officer escorted sightseers from the Biloxi Lighthouse Pier, where storm surge had loosened the dock at the pier’s south end from its moorings.

The officer said any boards torn from the long pier might leave people stranded at the south end, forcing rescues. Once everyone was off the pier, the officer barricaded it.

11:30 a.m. Sunday

Flash flooding reported in several cities on the Coast, including along U.S. 90 in Waveland, Long Beach and Biloxi.

Lighthouse Pier in Biloxi has sustained damage from storm surge.

10:10 a.m. Sunday

Spiraling rain bands moving ashore from Tropical Storm Cristobal will produce rainfall in excess of 1.5 inches an hour, causing flash flooding, the National Weather Service says.

Streets are flooding in Hancock County, as are areas along U.S. 90 in Harrison County,

Radar is currently showing a rain band over south Mississippi, another over the western/central Florida panhandle and a third band over southeastern Louisiana.

Boat owners are securing their vessels as storm surge floods the Pass Christian Harbor.

9:20 a.m. Sunday

A tornado warning has been issued until 9:45 a.m for east central Harrison County and southwestern Jackson County. “Take cover now!” the National Weather Service advises.

9:01 a.m. Sunday

The Hancock County Emergency Management Agency reports minor and some major flooding on 259 streets.

Flooding was reported on the following roads and streets around them:

▪ Everest on the west side of MS 603 and 10 streets.

▪ Lagan on the east side of MS 603 and 37 streets.

▪ Central Avenue on east side of MS 603 and 60 streets.

▪ Avenue B on east side of MS 603 and 27 streets.

▪ Chapman Road had 25 streets.

▪ Jordan River Drive had six streets.

▪ Sugar Field Drive had two streets.

▪ Avenue B on the west side of MS 603 had 10 streets.

▪ Kiln-Waveland Cut-off Road had eight streets.

▪ MS 603 and Whitney had five streets.

▪ Harbor Drive had 27 streets.

▪ Heron Bay/Ansley Road had 14 streets.

▪ Union off River Drive had 18 streets.

▪ Beach Boulevard had one street.

▪ Jordan River Shores had nine streets.

8:50 a.m. Sunday

Hancock County emergency managers report a number of roads flooded, with a count still underway. The Weather Channel also is reporting that portions of U.S. 90 are flooded in East Gulfport, with 6 to 8 inches of water in some places.

8:25 a.m. Sunday

A tornado warning is in force until 8:45 a.m. Sunday for areas north and south of Interstate 10, including the communities of Orange Grove in Gulfport and Woolmarket in Biloxi, the National Weather Service says.

7:30 a.m. Sunday

Tropical Storm Cristobal’s winds are picking up on the Mississippi Coast, with the storm expected to make landfall late Sunday afternoon or early evening in coastal Louisiana with sustained winds of 30-40 miles per hour and gusts up to 55 miles per hour.

Tropical storm and storm-surge warnings are in force for coastal Mississippi and Louisiana. The NWS is forecasting flooding rain amounts.

Storm surge could reach 3 to 5 feet from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs. The deepest water will be along the Coast and strong winds will extend well east of the center, the NWS says.

Cristobal is expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across portions of the central Gulf Coast into the Lower Mississippi Valley, with isolated showers of up to 12 inches.

Tornadoes are possible today and tonight across South Mississippi, East Louisiana, South Alabama and North Florida.

Cristobal will continue moving north-northwest Monday morning into northern Louisiana.

10 p.m. Saturday

Tropical storm force winds and heavy rainfall are expected to begin moving across the northern Gulf Coast.

“Heavy rain is still the greatest concern while surge is also a big issue along portions of the coast,” said the National Weather Service in Slidell. “Winds and isolated tornadoes are also a concern Sunday and Sunday night.”

There is a “a lot of uncertainty” with rainfall as many impacts are well away from the storm’s center, the weather service said. But it’s possible a storm band could be parked over parts of the area for 6-12 hours dumping rain.

River flood warnings also have been issued in all the coastal counties. “Rivers will have a very hard time draining as storm surge and high tides within the tidal lakes will push water back up river,” the weather service said. “This will not really improve Monday as strong southerly winds will continue all day.”

Landfall is now expected to happen Sunday evening, around 7 p.m.

Not much has changed with Cristobal, the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. update. It still looks more like a subtropical storm, with a broad wind field sending rain bands all across Florida.

Winds are still at 45 kt, or just above 50 mph, according to data from both NOAA and Air Force Hurricane Hunters based in Biloxi.

“Cristobal has about another 18-24 hours over water in which it could strengthen,” the NHC forecast said. “However, given its broad structure, lack of deep convection near the center, and dry air that is wrapping into the west and south sides of the circulation, only a little strengthening is predicted. “

The center is moving north at just over 10 mph, which will continue for another day with landfall on the Louisiana coast Sunday night.

After landfall, a slight turn to the northwest is expected Monday, then “steady weakening is forecast and the cyclone should weaken to a tropical depression by late Monday.”

4 p.m. Saturday

Cristobal still looks more like subtropical storm and doesn’t yet have the structure of a typical tropical cyclone, the National Hurricane Center said in its 4 p.m. update.

Landfall is expected around 1 p.m. Sunday on the Louisiana coast.

The forecast is unchanged, and maximum winds are just over 50 mph.

The central pressure has held steady, suggesting no significant strengthening since this morning, according to data collected by the Hurricane Hunters based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

“Since the system is not well organized and is likely to continue to ingest some more dry air, only a little more strengthening is expected until landfall,” the NHC said.

2 p.m. Saturday

Be prepared for power outages.

Customers can report outages and view outage maps at the Singing River Electric and Mississippi Power websites.

10 a.m. Saturday

As rain bands started to reach the Gulf Coast, there has not been much change in the National Hurricane Center’s forecast, with landfall expected in east-central Louisiana on Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service in Slidell said the storm is still “fairly disorganized due to the interaction with dry air.”

“It is important to remember that much of the significant weather can and will likely be felt to the north and east of the center and hazardous weather can be surely experienced with this system well away from the center.”

The main impacts are expected to be heavy rainfall, surge, wind and the tornado threat.

Peak wind forecast is 30-40 mph with gusts to 55 mph.

Peak rainfall forecast is 4-8 inches, but some areas could see more.

The entire Gulf Coast remains under a tropical storm warning.

A storm surge warning was canceled for Jackson County and areas to the east. It remains in effect from Harrison County through south Louisiana, where surge could be 3-5 feet of water.

A flash flood watch is in effect through Monday evening.

A flood watch is in effect through Tuesday morning.

River flood warnings have been issued for Pearl River, Wolf River, Biloxi River, Tchoutacabouffa River, Hobolochitto Creek and Mississippi River.

This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 7:31 AM.