Nicholas crawls into Louisiana from Texas, dumping rain

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Storm clouds from Tropical Storm Nicholas are seen down a location that was destroyed by Hurricane Ida, successful Pointe-aux-Chenes, La., Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 985-850-1149

POINTE-AUX-CHENES, La. – Nicholas weakened to a tropical slump arsenic it crawled from Texas into confederate Louisiana connected Wednesday, unleashing dense rainfall crossed a scenery wherever Hurricane Ida destroyed thousands of rooftops present covered with flimsy tarps.

Forecasters said Nicholas would stay a disorganized messiness implicit cardinal Louisiana for days, with plentifulness of h2o inactive to dump eastbound of its center, drenching the Gulf Coast arsenic acold arsenic the occidental Florida Panhandle. Southeast Louisiana faced the biggest flooding threat, and Gov. John Bel Edwards warned radical to instrumentality it seriously, adjacent though Nicholas was nary longer the hurricane that made landfall successful Texas connected Tuesday.

“This is simply a precise superior storm, peculiarly successful those areas that were truthful heavy impacted by Hurricane Ida,” Edwards said.

Forecasters warned radical on the cardinal Gulf Coast that up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) are imaginable done Friday successful places crossed a portion inactive recovering from Category 4 hurricanes — Ida weeks agone and Laura past year.

Galveston, Texas, recorded astir 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rainfall from Nicholas, the 14th named tempest of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, portion Houston reported much than 6 inches (15 centimeters). The New Orleans bureau of the National Weather Service said precocious Tuesday that arsenic overmuch arsenic 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rainfall could autumn successful parts of Louisiana, with immoderate areas seeing peculiarly aggravated periods of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) of rainfall per hour.

In the tiny Louisiana assemblage of Pointe-aux-Chenes, Ida peeled unfastened the tin extortion of Terry and Patti Dardar’s home, leaving them without powerfulness and h2o for much than 2 weeks since. Nicholas made the harm that overmuch worse, soaking the upstairs. But it besides provided them with severely needed water, which their lad Terren and grandchildren collected successful jugs and poured into a immense integrative instrumentality done a strainer. From there, a pump powered by a generator brought the h2o inside.

His mom, Patti, said the household didn’t person anyplace other to spell aft Ida, truthful members were doing their champion during Nicholas.

“We ain’t got nary different place," she said. “This is our home."

Gov. Edwards noted that 95,000 electrical customers were inactive without powerfulness much than 2 weeks after Ida hit. And helium said the caller tempest could mean immoderate who had regained powerfulness mightiness suffer it again. Homes already severely damaged by Ida were not yet repaired to the grade that they could withstand dense rain, Edwards added.

Energy companies moving to reconstruct powerfulness to remaining areas successful the authorities said Wednesday that they were watching Nicholas intimately but didn't expect it to impact their restoration times.

A spokesperson for Entergy Louisiana said Nicholas truthful acold has not caused immoderate delays to antecedently announced times to reconstruct power. Crews cannot run erstwhile lightning is wrong 10 miles (16 kilometers) and can’t enactment bucket trucks successful the aerial astatine winds greater than 30 mph (50 kph), said Jerry Nappi. But erstwhile conditions amended they would rapidly resume work.

Joe Ticheli, manager and CEO of South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association, said rainfall truly doesn’t halt the linemen, who are outfitted with slicker suits and grit.

“These are pugnacious guys, and they relish each of this,” helium said. The coop services astir 21,000 customers crossed 5 parishes including parts of the hard-hit Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. Ticheli said the coop has returned powerfulness to astir 75% of its customers with the remaining 25% mostly successful the hardest-hit parts of confederate Terrebonne parish.

In the weather-battered metropolis of Lake Charles, successful southwestern Louisiana, Mayor Nic Hunter said up of Nicholas the metropolis prepositioned assets should they beryllium needed, and metropolis crews scoured the drainage strategy to support it escaped from debris that mightiness origin clogs and flooding.

Lake Charles has been hammered. Hurricane Laura caused important structural harm crossed the metropolis of astir 80,000 residents. Weeks aboriginal Hurricane Delta ripped done the aforesaid area. Freezing temperatures successful January burst pipes crossed the city, and past a May rainstorm swamped houses and businesses yet again.

The politician says he's people disquieted astir however his radical are coping.

“With what radical person gone done implicit the past 16 months present successful Lake Charles, they are very, understandably, despondent, emotional. Any clip we person adjacent a hint of a upwind lawsuit approaching, radical get scared,” helium said.

Santana reported from New Orleans. Associated Press reporters Kevin McGill successful New Orleans and Juan A. Lozano successful Surfside Beach, Texas contributed to this report.

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