<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-orleans-residents-huddle-at-home-and-in-bars-ahead-of-hurricane-235521">Hurricane Barry</a> was churning off Louisiana on Saturday, poised to make landfall as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019 in a westward shift that appeared to spare low-lying New Orleans from the massive flooding feared earlier this week.

The National Hurricane Center, which said Barry had became a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kph) on Saturday morning, added the storm was likely to weaken.

"Barry should quickly weaken below hurricane strength as it moves onshore, and subsequently it is forecast to weaken below tropical storm strength between 24-36 hours," it said.

The storm could still bring <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/life-threatening-tropical-storm-barry-grinds-toward-louisiana-235408">dangerous rainfall flooding </a>and storm surge to coastal regions southwest of New Orleans and to Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

But the threat of major flooding from the historically high Mississippi River overtopping levees appeared to have passed.

The river crested on Friday night at just under 17 feet in New Orleans, the National Weather Service said, much lower than a prediction of 20 feet earlier this week, which would have approached the height of the levees.

The river was expected to surge again on Monday at about 17 feet, up slightly because of the expected rains, the weather service said.

Predictions for when the center of the storm would make landfall were pushed back from sunrise to late morning or early afternoon as Barry crawled across the Gulf Coast at about 3 mph, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said.

The "lopsided" nature of the storm meant most of the rain was expected after landfall and its slow speed increased the risk of flooding, the weather service said.

Life-threatening, significant flash flooding and river flooding will become increasingly likely later on Saturday and overnight, especially across portions of south-central and southeast Louisiana into Mississippi, forecasters said.

Authorities had urged New Orleans residents to secure property, stock up on provisions and shelter in place. Some nervous residents opted to flee the city, and tourism officials reported an abrupt exodus of out-of-town visitors on Friday.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in outlying coastal areas beyond the protection of levees in neighboring Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes south of the city.

Rain bands were already hitting the coast before sunrise, and more than 62,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power at 7 a.m. local time, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana on Friday, freeing up federal disaster assistance if needed.

Katrina&nbsp;

Barry was seen as a test of beefed-up flood defences put in place since Hurricane Katrina, which left much of New Orleans underwater and killed about 1,800 people in 2005.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said 48 hours of heavy downpours could overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water.

The city's Sewerage and Water Board, which operates the pumps, said the agency was expecting between 6 and 12 inches of rain, down from up to 20 inches or more in some earlier forecasts.

"What matters now is how fast it comes," Rainey said.

The city's pumps can handle the removal of about a half inch of rain an hour.

"While the storm's movement west is a promising sign that Barry's impact on New Orleans may be less than first predicted, we're not letting down our guard," he said.

Across the city, motorists left cars parked on the raised median strips of roadways, hoping the extra elevation would protect them from flood damage. Sandbags were stacked outside of hotels, shops and other businesses along Canal Street.

The sheriff's office said dozens of jail inmates held on minor charges were released to make room for nearly 70 inmates transferred from a temporary lockup to the main detention facility, which was built to withstand a major hurricane.

The sun made a brief appearance over downtown New Orleans on Saturday, though gray clouds covered the sky for most of the morning.

Yuda and Cecilia Lilo, tourists from Bolivia, were walking through the narrow roads of the French Quarter, happy their trip had not been completely rained out.

"Everything is closed, so we cannot even have breakfast," Yuda said, noting the usually packed sidewalks were mostly empty. "We took a chance and we're making the best of it."

Hurricane Barry was churning off Louisiana on Saturday, poised to make landfall as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019 in a westward shift that appeared to spare low-lying New Orleans from the massive flooding feared earlier this week.

Hurricane Barry was churning off Louisiana on Saturday, poised to make landfall as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019 in a westward shift that appeared to spare low-lying New Orleans from the massive flooding feared earlier this week. The National Hurricane Center, which said Barry had became a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kph) on Saturday morning, added the storm was likely to weaken. "Barry should quickly weaken below hurricane strength as it moves onshore, and subsequently it is forecast to weaken below tropical storm strength between 24-36 hours," it said. The storm could still bring dangerous rainfall flooding and storm surge to coastal regions southwest of New Orleans and to Baton Rouge and Lafayette. But the threat of major flooding from the historically high Mississippi River overtopping levees appeared to have passed. The river crested on Friday night at just under 17 feet in New Orleans, the National Weather Service said, much lower than a prediction of 20 feet earlier this week, which would have approached the height of the levees. The river was expected to surge again on Monday at about 17 feet, up slightly because of the expected rains, the weather service said. Predictions for when the center of the storm would make landfall were pushed back from sunrise to late morning or early afternoon as Barry crawled across the Gulf Coast at about 3 mph, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said. The "lopsided" nature of the storm meant most of the rain was expected after landfall and its slow speed increased the risk of flooding, the weather service said. Life-threatening, significant flash flooding and river flooding will become increasingly likely later on Saturday and overnight, especially across portions of south-central and southeast Louisiana into Mississippi, forecasters said. Authorities had urged New Orleans residents to secure property, stock up on provisions and shelter in place. Some nervous residents opted to flee the city, and tourism officials reported an abrupt exodus of out-of-town visitors on Friday. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in outlying coastal areas beyond the protection of levees in neighboring Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes south of the city. Rain bands were already hitting the coast before sunrise, and more than 62,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power at 7 a.m. local time, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us. U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana on Friday, freeing up federal disaster assistance if needed. Katrina Barry was seen as a test of beefed-up flood defences put in place since Hurricane Katrina, which left much of New Orleans underwater and killed about 1,800 people in 2005. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said 48 hours of heavy downpours could overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water. The city's Sewerage and Water Board, which operates the pumps, said the agency was expecting between 6 and 12 inches of rain, down from up to 20 inches or more in some earlier forecasts. "What matters now is how fast it comes," Rainey said. The city's pumps can handle the removal of about a half inch of rain an hour. "While the storm's movement west is a promising sign that Barry's impact on New Orleans may be less than first predicted, we're not letting down our guard," he said. Across the city, motorists left cars parked on the raised median strips of roadways, hoping the extra elevation would protect them from flood damage. Sandbags were stacked outside of hotels, shops and other businesses along Canal Street. The sheriff's office said dozens of jail inmates held on minor charges were released to make room for nearly 70 inmates transferred from a temporary lockup to the main detention facility, which was built to withstand a major hurricane. The sun made a brief appearance over downtown New Orleans on Saturday, though gray clouds covered the sky for most of the morning. Yuda and Cecilia Lilo, tourists from Bolivia, were walking through the narrow roads of the French Quarter, happy their trip had not been completely rained out. "Everything is closed, so we cannot even have breakfast," Yuda said, noting the usually packed sidewalks were mostly empty. "We took a chance and we're making the best of it."

Barry churns off Louisiana, New Orleans storm surge lower than feared

New Orleans braced for severe flooding with residents told to hunker down as a growing tropical storm in the US-Gulf of Mexico headed for landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana late on Thursday, hours after the region's oil production was cut by half as energy companies evacuated offshore drilling facilities and a coastal refinery.

Tropical Storm Barry was packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km/hour) early on Friday.

Authorities were keeping a watchful eye on the levee system built to contain flooding along the lower Mississippi River, which winds through the heart of New Orleans and has been running above flood stage for the past six months.

Barry was forecast to bring a coastal storm surge into the mouth of the river that could push its crest to 19 feet (5.9 m) on Saturday - a foot lower than initially predicted but still the highest level since 1950 and dangerously close to the top of the city's levees.

Meteorologists predicted between 10 and 20 inches (25-50 cm) of rain along much of the Gulf Coast on Friday and Saturday.

The brunt of the storm was expected to skirt the western edge of New Orleans instead of making a direct hit. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said that the city had not ordered any voluntary or mandatory evacuations, but added that 48 hours of heavy downpours could overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water in the low-lying city.

Pumps were already working at capacity after heavy rains flooded streets on Wednesday, she said.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned: "The more information we get, the more concerned we are that this is going to be an extreme rain event."

Officials for the US&nbsp;Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the levees, insisted no significant breaching of the 20-foot-tall levees in New Orleans was likely.

Some residents, recalling the deadly, devastating floods unleashed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, said they were determined to get out of harm's way.

"It's really the river that has us worried," said Betsey Hazard, who lives with her husband, Jack, and their two young children a block from the Mississippi River. She said the family was packing up and heading for the neighboring state of Mississippi to ride out the storm.

"They say that the river won't flood in New Orleans, but we have a 5-year-old and a 10-month-old, and we don't want to take any chances."

Others flocked to supermarkets for bottled water, ice, snack foods and beer, thronging grocery outlets in such numbers that some stores ran out of shopping carts.

Throughout the city, motorists left cars parked on the raised median strips of roadways in hopes the extra elevation would protect them from flood damage.

A tropical storm warning was posted on Thursday afternoon for metropolitan New Orleans, and a hurricane warning for a stretch of the Louisiana coast south of the city.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for areas of Plaquemines Parish beyond the levees southeast of the city, and for low-lying communities in Jefferson Parish, to the southwest.

Barry will be classified a hurricane once sustained winds hit 74 mph (119 km), which could occur late on Friday or early on Saturday when its center is expected to be near the Louisiana shoreline, the National Weather Service said. Weakening is expected after Barry moves inland.

New Orleans braced for severe flooding with residents told to hunker down as a growing tropical storm in the US-Gulf of Mexico headed for landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019.

New Orleans braced for severe flooding with residents told to hunker down as a growing tropical storm in the US-Gulf of Mexico headed for landfall late on Friday or early on Saturday as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019. US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the state of Louisiana late on Thursday, hours after the region's oil production was cut by half as energy companies evacuated offshore drilling facilities and a coastal refinery. Tropical Storm Barry was packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km/hour) early on Friday. Authorities were keeping a watchful eye on the levee system built to contain flooding along the lower Mississippi River, which winds through the heart of New Orleans and has been running above flood stage for the past six months. Barry was forecast to bring a coastal storm surge into the mouth of the river that could push its crest to 19 feet (5.9 m) on Saturday - a foot lower than initially predicted but still the highest level since 1950 and dangerously close to the top of the city's levees. Meteorologists predicted between 10 and 20 inches (25-50 cm) of rain along much of the Gulf Coast on Friday and Saturday. The brunt of the storm was expected to skirt the western edge of New Orleans instead of making a direct hit. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said that the city had not ordered any voluntary or mandatory evacuations, but added that 48 hours of heavy downpours could overwhelm pumps designed to purge streets and storm drains of excess water in the low-lying city. Pumps were already working at capacity after heavy rains flooded streets on Wednesday, she said. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned: "The more information we get, the more concerned we are that this is going to be an extreme rain event." Officials for the US Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the levees, insisted no significant breaching of the 20-foot-tall levees in New Orleans was likely. Some residents, recalling the deadly, devastating floods unleashed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, said they were determined to get out of harm's way. "It's really the river that has us worried," said Betsey Hazard, who lives with her husband, Jack, and their two young children a block from the Mississippi River. She said the family was packing up and heading for the neighboring state of Mississippi to ride out the storm. "They say that the river won't flood in New Orleans, but we have a 5-year-old and a 10-month-old, and we don't want to take any chances." Others flocked to supermarkets for bottled water, ice, snack foods and beer, thronging grocery outlets in such numbers that some stores ran out of shopping carts. Throughout the city, motorists left cars parked on the raised median strips of roadways in hopes the extra elevation would protect them from flood damage. A tropical storm warning was posted on Thursday afternoon for metropolitan New Orleans, and a hurricane warning for a stretch of the Louisiana coast south of the city. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for areas of Plaquemines Parish beyond the levees southeast of the city, and for low-lying communities in Jefferson Parish, to the southwest. Barry will be classified a hurricane once sustained winds hit 74 mph (119 km), which could occur late on Friday or early on Saturday when its center is expected to be near the Louisiana shoreline, the National Weather Service said. Weakening is expected after Barry moves inland.

New Orleans braces for flooding, Trump declares emergency ahead of Storm Barry

New Orleans was hit with widespread flooding on Wednesday from heavy rain spawned from a weather system that forecasters warned could grow into a hurricane capable of causing severe inundation of the low-lying US city.

The weather system churning in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to intensify this week into the second named tropical storm of the year, and ultimately the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019 as it heads closer to land, forecasters said.

New Orleans officials warned that a hurricane could bring a coastal storm surge into the mouth of the Mississippi River capable of raising the river's height to 20 feet (6 meters) above sea level, high enough to overflow some sections of the levee system protecting the city.

The storm is most likely to make landfall west of New Orleans on Saturday, National Weather Service senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday. "No one should take this storm lightly," he told a news conference.

The Mississippi River was already high from previous rains upriver, Edwards said.

New Orleans has been battered by devastating storms before, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which left most of Louisiana's largest city underwater, killed hundreds of residents and displaced 130,000 people.

The city was hit early Wednesday by thunderstorms that meteorologists said were associated with the building Gulf storm. A water spout, a weather phenomenon that resembles a tornado, formed over Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, and the Weather Service issued a tornado warning.

City Hall was closed, and many New Orleans streets were flooded after parts of the city received more than 8 inches (20 cm) of rain.

The Gulf weather system is likely to develop at the least into a tropical storm, which would be named Tropical Storm Barry, Beven said.

"The forecast has it becoming a hurricane, but there's a possibility that it might not also," Beven said by phone from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Oil and gas companies scaled back production and evacuated some offshore oil platforms as the storm approached.

Southeastern Louisiana was expected to be drenched by 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) of rain by week's end, with some areas receiving up to 18 inches (46 cm), Beven said.

New Orleans officials advised residents to stock up on drinking water, non-perishable food and other emergency supplies.

Officials in Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, ordered residents in some areas to plan to evacuate their homes on Thursday ahead of the storm.

And west of New Orleans, officials in Vermilion Parish advised some residents in low-lying areas and people living in mobile homes to consider moving to higher ground.

New Orleans was hit with widespread flooding on Wednesday from heavy rain spawned from a weather system that forecasters warned could grow into a hurricane capable of causing severe inundation of the low-lying US city.

New Orleans was hit with widespread flooding on Wednesday from heavy rain spawned from a weather system that forecasters warned could grow into a hurricane capable of causing severe inundation of the low-lying US city. The weather system churning in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to intensify this week into the second named tropical storm of the year, and ultimately the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019 as it heads closer to land, forecasters said. New Orleans officials warned that a hurricane could bring a coastal storm surge into the mouth of the Mississippi River capable of raising the river's height to 20 feet (6 meters) above sea level, high enough to overflow some sections of the levee system protecting the city. The storm is most likely to make landfall west of New Orleans on Saturday, National Weather Service senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday. "No one should take this storm lightly," he told a news conference. The Mississippi River was already high from previous rains upriver, Edwards said. New Orleans has been battered by devastating storms before, including 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which left most of Louisiana's largest city underwater, killed hundreds of residents and displaced 130,000 people. The city was hit early Wednesday by thunderstorms that meteorologists said were associated with the building Gulf storm. A water spout, a weather phenomenon that resembles a tornado, formed over Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, and the Weather Service issued a tornado warning. City Hall was closed, and many New Orleans streets were flooded after parts of the city received more than 8 inches (20 cm) of rain. The Gulf weather system is likely to develop at the least into a tropical storm, which would be named Tropical Storm Barry, Beven said. "The forecast has it becoming a hurricane, but there's a possibility that it might not also," Beven said by phone from the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Oil and gas companies scaled back production and evacuated some offshore oil platforms as the storm approached. Southeastern Louisiana was expected to be drenched by 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) of rain by week's end, with some areas receiving up to 18 inches (46 cm), Beven said. New Orleans officials advised residents to stock up on drinking water, non-perishable food and other emergency supplies. Officials in Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, ordered residents in some areas to plan to evacuate their homes on Thursday ahead of the storm. And west of New Orleans, officials in Vermilion Parish advised some residents in low-lying areas and people living in mobile homes to consider moving to higher ground.

Heavy rains flood New Orleans streets; forecasters predict hurricane

Authorities in Louisiana and Mississippi rescued people from their homes after heavy rains this weekend caused major flooding in the region.

Heavy rains in southern US leave some trapped