Weakened Barry still poses flood risk

Tropical Storm Barry spared Louisiana catastrophic flooding after it made landfall Saturday and weakened to a tropical depression Sunday afternoon. Forecasters predicted continued heavy rain into Monday, and much of the state, as well as Mississippi and parts of Arkansas, East Texas, western Tennessee, and southeastern Missouri remained under flash flood watches.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Sunday evening urged his state’s residents to remain cautious. Responders had rescued more than 90 people in 11 parishes, but Edwards said there were no reported weather-related deaths. “This is a storm that obviously could have played out very, very differently,” he said. “We’re thankful that the worst-case scenario did not happen.

About 51,000 power customers in Louisiana, 1,800 in Mississippi, and 1,700 in Arkansas were in the dark Sunday night, according to PowerOutage.US.