Forecast To Become Hurricane, Tropical Storm Barry Takes Aim At Louisiana Coast

Tropical Storm Barry took form in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and headed toward an already water-logged New Orleans, where it was forecast to make landfall as the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2019 season by late Friday or early Saturday.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (64 kph) as of 10 a.m CDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday, qualifying as a tropical storm, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters issued a storm-surge warning for a stretch of Louisiana coastline south of New Orleans stretching from the mouth of the Atchafalaya River to Shell Beach.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” NWS forecasters said.