Once-mighty Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened to a tropical depression Monday, but winds, rain, flooding and even tornadoes remained a threat from the Gulf Coast to Wisconsin.
About 8,400 customers in Louisiana and Mississippi remained without power Monday night, according to poweroutage.us.
It’s very efficient, very tropical rainfall, National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said in a Facebook video. It rains a whole bunch real quick.
Tropical-storm-force wind gusts were forecast Monday in parts of southeastern Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle. Blustery winds were expected to sweep northward Wednesday over portions of the Midwest and the western Great Lakes, the weather service said.
The storm was expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches across portions of the Gulf Coast into the Lower Mississippi Valley; isolated amounts of 15 inches was possible. Heavy rains and the potential for flooding were forecast as far north as Wisconsin, the weather service said.
The storm was centered 40 miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Monday, driving sustained winds of 35 mph. State offices in 22 parishes were ordered closed, and President Donald Trump approved federal assistance for the state’s cleanup efforts.
“At the request of @SenJohnKennedy and @SenBillCassidy of the Great State of Louisiana, I will be approving & signing today an EMERGENCY DECLARATION which will help with all aspects of the big storm that is currently hitting your shores,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “FEMA is already there. God Bless You!”
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