Sally moves toward New Orleans on the verge of becoming a Category 2 hurricane

2020-09-14T19:58:55.286Z

Louisiana has experienced two natural phenomena in 15 days that have left torrential rains and catastrophic floods

Satellite image showing Storm Sally over the Gulf of Mexico HANDOUT / AFP

The mandatory evacuation in the city of New Orleans for residents living outside the levee protection system was declared by the mayor, LaToya Cantrell, and began to take place last Sunday night before the advance of Tropical Storm Sally , which was expected to make landfall in Louisiana Tuesday morning as a Category 2 hurricane. This would be the state's third cyclonic emergency since hurricane season began.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Saturday night before Sally's arrival.

Edwards said he had spoken with President Donald Trump and planned to file such a federal statement prior to his arrival ashore.

“While we ultimately don't know where Sally will make landfall, much of southeastern Louisiana is in the cone of the storm and the risk of a tropical storm or hurricane force continues to increase.

This storm has the potential to be very serious, ”Edwards said in a news release.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), "Sally is expected to be a slow-moving system as it approaches land, producing 15 to 20 centimeters of rain," according to the HNC report.

Although strong winds are forecast to be dangerous, moving steadily at 150 kilometers per hour over the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, the great threat from this particular meteorological phenomenon is the large amount of water that it will leave behind. .

#Sally has rapidly strengthened into a hurricane, and some additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or so.

#Hurricane Warning is in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana to the Alabama / Florida border.

https://t.co/6RohXt3GhI pic.twitter.com/OFRPUmAngF

- National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 14, 2020

On her way, the NHC estimates that Sally will approach southeast Louisiana tonight and make landfall on Tuesday.

Its hurricane force winds will be felt immediately and is expected to move inland on Wednesday morning with very heavy rains that can affect parts of southeastern Mississippi and Alabama.

In this sense, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, has also anticipated events and declared a preliminary state of emergency for the state, as indicated last Sunday.

He also sent a request for help to the president, insisting that he expected the storm "to persist in most parts of the" state for at least 48 hours.

With more than a third of Louisiana still on the mend after two more weather strikes, Governor Edwards warned residents to be vigilant for changes taking place with Sally.

“This combined with the Covid-19 pandemic can leave us exhausted.

I implore you to prepare seriously. "

The Governor reported that three prisons with 1,200 prisoners in total have been evacuated and at least one nursing home is being evicted.

On the map displayed by the National Hurricane Center, Sally is not alone.

With it there are four more systems moving across the Atlantic: Hurricane Paullette, Storms Vicky and Teddy, and Depression Rene.

So far this season, there have been 18 named storms.

The average for a full season is 12. At the beginning of the season, this year's hurricane season was forecast to be very active.

When the hurricane season begins, the names on the list are arranged alphabetically: the name of the first hurricane or cyclone begins with A, the second with B, and so on ... In addition, the names of men and women alternate.

Even though the alphabet has 26 letters, hurricane lists have only 21 names: names beginning with the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are excluded in all regions as they are harder to find.

Furthermore, when a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone has caused a major catastrophe, the name is removed from the list and can no longer be used, out of respect for the victims, as is the case, for example, of Katrina.

The names for this year 2020 of the Atlantic storms have been Arthur;

Bertha;

Cristobal;

Dolly;

Edouard;

Fay;

Gonzalo;

Hanna;

Isaias;

Josephine;

Kyle;

Laura;