Tropical Storm Cristobal to make landfall in Louisiana after spawning tornado in Orlando

Oliver O'Connell
·2 min read
Rudy Horvath walks out of his home, a boathouse in the West End section of New Orleans, as it takes on water a from storm surge in Lake Pontchartrain in advance of Tropical Storm Cristobal: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Rudy Horvath walks out of his home, a boathouse in the West End section of New Orleans, as it takes on water a from storm surge in Lake Pontchartrain in advance of Tropical Storm Cristobal: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Tropical Storm Cristobal is set to make landfall in Louisiana late on Sunday with the potential to cause widespread flooding as heavy rains batter the Gulf Coast.

The storm has already spawned a tornado in Central Florida and more could form in parts of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi as Cristobal moves northwards.

National Weather Service reports said the twister touched down on Saturday evening close to downtown Orlando, near Lake Eola, narrowly missing a group of people protesting the death of George Floyd.

There appeared to be no injuries but tree limbs were knocked down, and there were reports of power outages.

Elsewhere, roads are already flooded in coastal parts of Louisiana and southern Mississippi that will likely bear the brunt of the storm when it hits late on Sunday.

Thousands of homes are already without power and there is potential for up to 12 inches of rain and a storm surge topping out at five feet.

Winds are sustained at 50mph with gusts of 62mph but are unlikely to strengthen further.

Grand Isle, Louisiana, which has already been evacuated, is now impassable and a highway is underwater.

The Louisiana National Guard has readied dozens of high-water vehicles and rescue boats, and teams of engineers are ready to assess critical infrastructure in the aftermath. Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency.

By Sunday lunchtime the storm was centred approximately 90 miles south of New Orleans. The city is largely quiet and businesses are already boarded up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump signed an emergency declaration on Sunday for the state of Louisiana to ready the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The storm will track north over Louisiana, gradually weakening as it passes over Arkansas and Missouri on Monday and Tuesday.

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