NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tropical Storm Claudette dumped heavy rain across coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as it chugged inland Saturday, threatening flash floods and possibly tornadoes along its soggy course across the Southeast.
The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm at 4 a.m. Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. It was north of the city three hours later, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) as the storm plodded to the northeast at 12 mph (19 kph). The heaviest rains were far from the center, near the Mississippi-Alabama state line.
Tornado warnings were issued from the Mississippi coast to the western Florida panhandle. In Mobile County, Alabama, someone reported storm damage to a fishing pier on Dauphin Island, Alabama, said Glen Brannan of the county Emergency Management Agency. He said there were no reports of injuries.
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"We've got little squalls running through. It'll rain really really hard for a few minutes and slack up for a few minutes," Brannan said early Saturday. "Just a lot of water on the roads."
Forecasters said Claudette could dump 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain in the region, with isolated accumulations of 15 inches (38 centimeters) possible.
Residents of Slidell, Louisiana, reported flooded streets and water in some neighborhoods as the storm pushed onshore overnight. Slidell police said the flooding had largely receded by daybreak, after swamping as many as 50 cars and trucks with water.
"A few low lying areas are still inundated with water and cannot be reached" with regular vehicles, Slidell police said in a Facebook post. "...We had to rescue multiple people from their flooded cars, along with a woman, who was on her way to the hospital, possibly going into labor."
Most people riding out the storm still had electricity when they woke Saturday morning. The website poweroutage.us reported roughly 13,000 outages total across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Forecasters predicted Claudette would become a tropical depression by early Sunday as its remnants crossed Alabama toward Georgia and the Carolinas. The storm was forecast to cross into the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina on Monday, and regain tropical storm strength over open water Tuesday.
The storm struck on a weekend when many on the Gulf Coast planned to celebrate Juneteenth and Father's Day.
Business owners across the Gulf Coast, from restaurateurs to swamp boat operators, had anticipated an influx of tourist cash after a year of lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"My biggest concern is that it drives away a busy weekend, and may just end up being a lot of rain," Austin Sumrall, the owner and chef at the White Pillars Restaurant and Lounge in Biloxi, Mississippi, said Friday.
He had 170 reservations on his books for Sunday, but was concerned some patrons would cancel.
"We saw, especially last year, the rug can get jerked out from under you pretty quickly," he said.
In Louisiana, the threat came a month after spring storms and flooding that were blamed for five deaths, and as parts of the state continued a slow recovery from a brutal 2020 hurricane season. That included Tropical Storm Cristobal that opened the season last June, hurricanes Laura and Delta that devastated southwest Louisiana, and Hurricane Zeta that downed trees and knocked out power for days in New Orleans in October.
Photos: Tropical Storm Claudette drenches Gulf Coast
Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., right, speaks during a news conference after having toured the National Hurricane Center with director Ken Graham, left, Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at the center in Miami. Tuesday marks the start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season which runs to Nov. 30. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham, left, speaks during a news conference along with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.,Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at the center in Miami. Tuesday marks the start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season which runs to Nov. 30. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks during a news conference after having toured the National Hurricane Center, Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Miami. Tuesday marks the start of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season which runs to Nov. 30. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
A worker moves water tricycles off the beach in Biloxi, Miss., as a tropical system approaches on Friday, June 18, 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. (Margaret Baker/The Sun Herald via AP)
Residents in low-lying areas of Hancock County move their vehicles, lawn mowers, ATVs and boats to higher ground in Waveland, Miss., as a tropical system approaches Friday, June 18, 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. (Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP)
A man takes a photo of waves crashing into what once was a dock for a ferry that transported people from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian, Miss., as a tropical system moves toward the Mississippi Coast on Friday, June 18, 2021. Forecasters predict a tropical system will bring heavy rain, storm surge and coastal flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The poorly organized disturbance was located Friday morning about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana. (Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Friday, June 18, 2021, at 11 a.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows a tropical weather system in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials ordered a floodgate and locks system closed in southeast Louisiana and readied sandbags in Mississippi and Alabama as a broad, disorganized tropical weather system began spinning bands of rain and brisk wind across the northern Gulf of Mexico coast Friday. (NOAA via AP)
Clouds from Tropical Storm Claudette form on Highway 90 Beaches in Pass Christian, Miss., Friday, June 18, 2021. City of Pass Christian has declared state of emergency for potential severe weather. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)
Lamont Pepp, right, waves to a passing motorist to slow down after Pepp's car stalled in high water on Gause Boulevard in Slidell late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
A flooded neighborhood is seen after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Saturday, June 19, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
Motorists navigate a flooded Gause Boulevard in Slidell, La., late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
A car stops in front of neighborhood flooding after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Saturday, June 19, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Lamont Pepp, right, waves to a passing motorist to slow down after Pepp's car stalled in high water on Gause Boulevard in Slidell late Friday, June 18, 2021, as a tropical disturbance neared the Louisiana shore. Tropical Storm Claudette has formed Saturday morning along the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing heavy rains and flooding to coastal states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Scott Threlkeld/The Advocate via AP)
Drivers along the flooded Cedar Lake Road in Biloxi, Miss., found the road underwater and their cars almost parallel to the moored boats in the small harbor, Saturday, June 19, 2021, as water from Tropical Storm Claudette begins to recede. Tropical Storm Claudette brought much evening and early morning rain and flooded various communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
This photo provided by Alicia Jossey shows debris covering the street in East Brewton, Ala., on Saturday, June 19, 2021. Authorities in Alabama say a suspected tornado spurred by Tropical Storm Claudette demolished or badly damaged at least 50 homes in the small town just north of the Florida border. (Alicia Jossey via AP)
This photo provided by Alicia Jossey shows debris covering the street in East Brewton, Ala., on Saturday, June 19, 2021. Authorities in Alabama say a suspected tornado spurred by Tropical Storm Claudette demolished or badly damaged at least 50 homes in the small town just north of the Florida border. (Alicia Jossey via AP)
Danny Gonzales, right, stands in front of his flooded house with his neighbor Bob Neal, upset with power company trucks driving though the flooded neighborhood pushing water back into his home, after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through, in Slidell, La., Saturday, June 19, 2021. The National Hurricane Center declared Claudette organized enough to qualify as a named storm early Saturday, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.