New Orleans has seen 5 feet of rain so far in 2024, and this week the rainfall totals will increase even further as a persistent weather pattern will bring several days of heavy rains that will trigger flood warnings. FOX weather correspondent Robert Ray reports from the city’s famous Bourbon Street.
NEW ORLEANS – The Interstate 10 corridor remains the focus of heavy rainfall and sudden flooding as a stalled frontal boundary unleashes torrential rains.
On Wednesday, flooding was reported from Jacksonville, Florida, along the I-10 corridor through southern Louisiana to southeast Texas.
A flood warning was issued for more than 5 million people, including the New Orleans metro.
The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center issued a Level 2 out of 4 chance of rain for communities south of Houston through southern Mississippi on Wednesday and is warning of further flash flooding in similar areas for the remainder of the work week.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the front is acting as a conveyor belt for accumulating waves of moisture in cities like The Big Easy — a pattern that isn’t expected to let up until the weekend.
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A look at the flash flood danger in the southeast through Friday.
(FOX Weather)
Forecast models predict that another 12 to 28 centimeters of rain could fall by the beginning of next week before the front finally moves out of the region.
The influx of tropical moisture from faraway countries like the Caribbean has made matters worse.
New Orleans, and especially the city center, were the target of heavy rains this year.
(FOX Weather)
This year, there were 11 flash flood warnings for New Orleans between June and August alone.
At New Orleans International Airport, the official location for records, 54.89 inches of rain have fallen so far this year, a respectable 8.4 inches above average. Just 10 miles east, downtown New Orleans has received 10 inches more rain than the airport — over 65 inches.
Frequent flooding places a financial burden on residents and business owners who must prepare for flooding during almost every storm.
This system is the same area where the National Hurricane Center had previously observed development along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, but since the low pressure system is expected to move ashore, the risk of tropical development has decreased.
