Hurricane preparedness week continues; yesterday we talked about the power of wind, and today we have been focusing on the rain factor. I really think that flooding is probably Acadiana’s number one tropical nemesis. It doesn’t take much more than a weak tropical disturbance (like Allison in 2001) to produce a 10-20†rainfall. We face this threat every year, several times, starting from May and continuing through October. Be prepared for flooding; know your elevation with respect to areas that surround your home, and I always recommend flood insurance for everyone in this area. Â
A neat utility for determining your elevation relative to your neighbors and other neighborhoods is Google Earth.   It’s a big download and you have to have a relatively new computer and a broadband connection to run the program. Once you get it up and running you can zoom down to the city street. Put your curser over an area and it will show you latitude and longitude and elevation. The elevations are not quite on, but you can see how the elevations change from one area to another.Â
Weather-wise no major changes to the forecast with a better shot at afternoon storms by Sunday or Monday. Until then your chance of getting wet will be in the 10% range.Â
Rob Perillo