Live updates: Louisiana braces for Hurricane Delta as few effects expected on MS Coast

5 p.m. Friday

Gulf Islands National Seashore will reopen the Davis Bayou Area for day use at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, after damage assessments and minor debris removal.

The Davis Bayou Campground will reopen at noon Tuesday, Oct. 13. Reservations will be honored upon reopening, and the campground registration building at the entrance to the campground will be open.

The William M. Colmer Visitor Center remains closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

2 p.m. Friday

No watches or warnings remain for the Mississippi Coast counties as most of the effects of Hurricane Delta will be felt in Louisiana.

For Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties, there is still a coastal flood advisory for low-lying areas and wind advisory until Saturday afternoon. Wind gusts of 30 mph are possible.

Landfall is expected in southwest Louisiana, near Cameron, and the storm is expected to move northeast toward north Mississippi on Saturday.

There are still tropical storm warnings and flash flood watches in southwest Mississippi near McComb.

Cruisin’ The Coast is still going on as planned, and some Friday events were earlier moved to Thursday.

Forecast for Biloxi/Gulfport:

• Friday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 7pm. Low around 74. Breezy, with a southeast wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
• Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 1pm, then a chance of showers after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
• Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

10 p.m. Thursday

Hurricane Delta, with sustained winds of 120 mph, could strengthen more over the next six hours before weakening in the northern Gulf of Mexico before a Friday landfall, the National Hurricane Center said.

The NHC said Delta’s eye was “obscured” on satellite images a few hours ago but has become apparent again.

And while the storm will likely lose wind strength before coming ashore on the Louisiana coast, “it will still have serious storm surge impacts due to its large size,” the NHC said.

Delta, now moving north-northwest at 12 mph, is expected to make a northern turn soon.

“It is important to note that small changes in the track, structure, or intensity of Delta could have large impacts on where the highest storm surge occurs,” the NHC’s 10 p.m. advisory said. “Users are urged to stay tuned for possible changes and updates.”

7 p.m.

Delta reached Category 3 status with sustained winds of 115 mph as it swirled toward a Louisiana landfall Friday afternoon or evening.

The storm is expected to weaken to a Category 2 hurricane before landfall. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds up to 160 miles out. The hurricane was moving at 12 mph.

Hancock and Harrison counties remain under storm-surge warnings with tropical storm watches in Hancock and Pearl River counties, where winds of 50-60 mph are expected. Tornadoes also are possible, especially in southwest Mississippi.

2:30 p.m.

While Hurricane Delta’s landfall is expected Friday evening in western Louisiana, Mississippi’s southwest counties are preparing for tropical storm-force winds of 50-60 mph winds, flash-flooding and, in Hancock and Harrison counties, storm surge.

“There’s going to be a lot of rain in Mississippi,” Gov. Tate Reeves said during a Thursday afternoon news conference with state and federal emergency managers. “There’s a potential for tornadoes, particularly in Hancock and Pearl River counties.” He said rain could fall nonstop over the next 72 hours.

A tornado warning was in effect until 4 p.m.. in northwest Jackson County with a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado located 11 miles north of Latimer and 15 miles north of St. Martin, moving north at 10 mph.

A pre-disaster emergency declaration has been approved for Hancock, Harrison and Wilkinson counties, which will be eligible for reimbursement for protective measures in advance of the hurricane. Direct assistance also has been approved for the federal government to supply generators, water, meals and other support in 27 additional counties that could be affected.

The greatest threat is from wind in southwest Mississippi, state Emergency Management Agency director Greg Michel said. He said emergency responders are staged in McComb for disaster response.

Southwestern counties and western counties on the Mississippi River can expect 4-6 inches inches of rain, with 2-4 inches in counties west of Interstate 55, Reeves said.

Southwest Mississippi could begin feeling effects from Hurricane Delta by 5 pm. Friday, and the storm should exit the state near Corinth in northeast Mississippi early Sunday morning. He also reminded everyone of the possibility that the large hurricane could tick east, as happened recently with Hurricane Sally.

The state is prepared to open up to 11 shelters if needed and is preparing a shelter in Wiggins for those with medical needs.

Severe weather can be expected for most of the day Saturday in the Delta and western part of the state, Reeves said.

“There’s a very good likelihood that while it’s going to be a challenging event, it’s not going to be the kind of event we’ll talk about for the next 50 years,” the governor said, “but that could change.”

10 a.m.

Hurricane Delta is better organized Thursday morning and “a hint of an eye developing in the overcast,” the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 a.m. report.

The center is still forecast to come onshore, most likely in southwest Louisiana, in about 36 hours.

Wind shear, sea surface temperature and moisture conditions appear favorable for strengthening during the next 12-24 hours.

“The global models forecast strong southwesterly shear developing over the hurricane during the last 12 hours before landfall, and based on this some weakening is forecast,” the report says.

8 a.m.

The storm surge watch has been canceled for Jackson County, as Hurricane Delta continues to track west toward the Louisiana coast.

Storm surge warnings for 2-4 feet remain in effect for Hancock and Harrison County, according to the 7 a.m. report from the National Weather Service in New Orleans.

The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, moved from Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi for the third time this hurricane season. They now are flying from San Antonio, Texas, into the center of Hurricane Delta.

Their latest flight found maximum sustained winds at near 100 mph with higher gusts.

Delta is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane by Thursday night. Some weakening is expected to occur when Delta approaches the Louisiana Coast and makes landfall Friday afternoon or evening.

In South Mississippi, on and off rain is in the forecast for Thursday through Saturday, but no river flooding advisories have been issued for the Coast.

The forecast for the Coast shows a chance of showers and thunderstorms until 2 p.m. Thursday, followed by showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m.

Friday’s forecast shows a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Saturday will be partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of showers.

Sand bag locations

Harrison County

• Harrison County Road Department at 11076 Lorraine Road
• D’Iberville Work Center at 190085 1st Ave. W
• Lyman Work Center at 15001 County Farm Road
• Woolmarket Work Center at 16395 Old Woolmarket Road
• District 4 Work Center at 8300 34th Ave. in Gulfport
• Long Beach Work Center at 605 N. Seal Ave.

Hancock County

Beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday. If you need assistance, call the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency at 228-255-0942 or Hancock County Central Dispatch at 228-255-9191.

• Hancock County Horse Arena, 4184 Kiln Delisle Road
• Old Hancock County Complex, 3068 Longfellow Drive
• Lakeshore Community Center, 6440 Lower Bay Road
• Bayside Fire Department, 6215 West Hinds Street
• West Hancock Fire Department, 16006 Washington Street
• Diamondhead City Hall, 5000 Diamondhead Circle

Jackson County

• West Division Roads Department, N. Washington Avenue (Mississippi 609), Ocean Springs

• Forts Lake Fire Department, 10701 Forts Lake Road, Moss Point

• Fontainebleau Fire Department, 3901 Hwy. 57 South, Ocean Springs
• East Division Roads Department, 10825 Hwy. 63, Moss Point
• St. Andrews Fire Department, 1401 Elm Street, Ocean Springs
  
  

• Ocean Springs - Public Works Department, 712 A Pine Drive

• Gautier - Behind City Hall, Highway 90

• Pascagoula - Jackson County Fairgrounds, 2902 Shortcut Road

• Moss Point - New Central Fire Station, 4204 Bellview Street
• Vancleave - Central Division Roads Department, 8500 Jim Ramsey Road

This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 8:43 AM.