Tropical Storm Barry Brings Threat Of Major Flooding, Storm Surge For Louisiana

BOSTON (CBS) -- As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, Tropical Storm Barry became the second named storm of 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. Strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, this tropical storm is expected to reach hurricane status just after midnight on Saturday. It will make landfall along the Louisiana coast as a Cat 1 hurricane and remain at that strength over a 24 hour period. Over the next two days, rain totals will range from 6-15"+ in parts of Louisiana.

The National Hurricane Center also issued a hurricane warning Thursday afternoon for parts of the Louisiana coast.

The major threat with this system has been and continues to be the flooding and storm surge. The Mississippi River is already at an extremely high level. It's latest reading at Baton Rouge was 42.18. Flood stage is at 35 feet and "major flood stage" is at 40 feet. It is expected to crest at 43 feet the evening of July 23. As for the storm surge, forecasts suggest the inundation will reach anywhere from 3-6 feet above ground level from areas west of Morgan City, Louisiana to Biloxi, Mississippi

The system will slowly slide northeast and lose some its intensity. That being said, heavy rainfall is still expected into early next week for parts of the Mississippi River valley.

Barry doesn't seem to have its sights set on New England, however, this will linger and could shift in track over the weekend. Thus, the WBZ weather team will keep a very close eye on Barry's movement.