Tropical Storm Gordon: May hit Gulf Coast as hurricane after nightfall

SHARE Tropical Storm Gordon: May hit Gulf Coast as hurricane after nightfall
tropical_storm_gordon_e1536098217827.jpg

People fill sandbags at Long Beach Harbor on Sept. 4, 2018, in Long Beach, Miss., in advance of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is continuing to strengthen and is expected to become a hurricane late Tuesday when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast, including coastal Mississippi. | Amanda McCoy/The Sun Herald via AP

GULFPORT, Miss. — Families filled sandbags, took patio furniture inside and stocked up on batteries and bottled water as the Gulf Coast prepared Tuesday for Tropical Storm Gordon, which could strengthen and become the second hurricane to hit the region in less than a year.

Just hours before the storm was expected to come ashore, a few people remained on the beach, soaking in the sun before the tropical rain bands became more numerous. Others did their familiar pre-storm preparation rituals, including the staff at The Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian, Mississippi, only about a block from the Gulf of Mexico. The hotel restaurant planned to stay open Tuesday evening as usual, fortified by sandbags to keep out torrential rains, the manager said.

“All the outside furniture has to come in, but honestly it’s not even a freak-out kind of hurricane, so we’re not super-stressed right now,” Ashley Peeples said around midday Tuesday.

Gulfport was providing sand and bags to residents, and Kenny Macdonald was filling them up for himself and older residents.

“This is kind of routine to some degree,” Macdonald said. “You don’t know what the intensity of the storm is going to be. You don’t want to take it lightly, of course.”

A hurricane warning was in effect for the entire Mississippi and Alabama coasts with the possibility Gordon would become a Category 1 storm. The National Hurricane Center predicted a “life-threatening” storm surge of 3 to 5 feet along parts of the central Gulf Coast.

Flooding was also a risk. As much as 8 inches of rain could fall in some parts of the Gulf states through late Thursday as the tropical weather moves inland toward Arkansas.

By Tuesday afternoon, the storm was centered 95 miles southeast of Biloxi, Mississippi, with top sustained winds of 70 mph. Forecasters said it was possible Gordon’s winds might meet the 74 mph threshold to be a hurricane before making landfall later Tuesday.

The last hurricane to strike the U.S. was Nate in October, coming ashore in Biloxi with 75 mph winds.

Governors in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all declared states of emergency, allowing them to mobilize state resources and National Guard troops to help during and after the storm.

Mississippi shut down a dozen Gulf Coast casinos as the storm neared. Workers on at least 54 oil and gas production platforms were evacuated.

Gordon became a tropical storm Monday near the Florida Keys, so residents and businesses rushed preparations Tuesday. But for some people, it was just another beach day with a bit of a breeze.

Morgan Kearley took the potted plants off her porch Tuesday before heading to the beach at Bay St. Louis with her husband, their daughter and a niece and nephew. They stayed near the edge of the water as a stiff breeze from the south rarely relented.

“I think we’ve had worse in the past,” Kearley’s husband, Shane, said.

Mayors of barrier islands in the storm’s path warned that their communities might get cut off from the mainland.

“When you get the higher waves, water starts splashing across. Sometimes it starts pushing not only water across but debris, logs and things of that nature, which makes it very treacherous to get across,” said Jeff Collier, mayor of Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Gordon was poised for only a glancing blow to New Orleans, where Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city has “the pumps and the power” needed to protect residents.

Authorities issued a voluntary evacuation order for areas outside the city’s levee protection system, including the Venetian Isles, Lake Saint Catherine and Irish Bayou communities.

L. J. Cazaux moved his boat to a nearby lot of elevated land before the rain started in Venetian Isles. He elevated his house off the ground after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has food, water and two generators.

“You just blend it into your lifestyle when you live outside the levee system. You know you’re going to flood before anyone else does. The good part about it is the water goes down faster here,” said Cazaux, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years.

Gordon was not the only storm being watched by forecasters. Hurricane Florence was some 2,400 miles away from the U.S., and another potential storm was likely to form not far off the coast of Africa and head east.

The National Hurricane Center said it is way too early to know if either of those storms will have any impact on land.

“It’s the peak of hurricane season. Now is the time to get your plans all set,” Hurricane Director Ken Graham said.

Associated Press writers Jeff Martin and Ben Nadler in Atlanta; Jay Reeves in Dauphin Island, Alabama; Emily Wagster Pettus and Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Rebecca Santana in New Orleans; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

The Latest
Murder charges have been filed against suspect Christian I. Soto, 22. Investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks, but they say Soto had been smoking marijuana before the rampage.
To celebrate the historic coinciding of the emerging of two broods, artists can adopt a cicada for free in exchange for decorating it and displaying it publicly. Others can purchase the cicadas for $75.
Senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.