Rain forces early school closures; no flood reports so far

St. Mary Parish public schools, Immanuel Christian and Holy Cross Elementary will close at noon today and Central Catholic High will close at 11:45 a.m. because of the bad weather. Public school buses will run, officials said.
Despite up to 6 inches of rainfall in the Morgan City area during the past day, officials said this morning there weren’t any reports of flooding in the area. But a flash flood watch will be in effect through Saturday night, as forecasters say the area could see another 4 inches of rainfall this weekend.
Since Thursday, through about 8 a.m. this morning, northern parts of Morgan City had received 5 to 6 inches of rain, while the southern parts of the city got 4 to 5 inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones said.
The weather forecast shows rain continuing in the Tri-City probably all next week, though Jones expected today and Saturday to have the most amount of rainfall. The area could get up to 4 more inches of rain through Sunday. Rain chances will stay at 50 percent to 60 percent each day through next Friday, he said.
A flash flood watch will remain in effect through 7 p.m. Saturday for southwest and south central Louisiana, Jones said. Forecasters issued flash flood warning this morning for most of New Iberia up to the western St. Mary Parish line and expected that warning to last at three hours, he said.
Heavy rain and street flooding prompted several school districts in southeast Louisiana to cancel classes, authorities said Friday. St. Martin Parish public schools, including Stephensville Elementary, were also closed today.
The National Weather Service hadn’t received any reports of flooding in the Morgan City area as of 8 a.m. today. Flooding was reported in the Lafayette and New Iberia areas, Jones said.
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to several traffic incidents and crashes Thursday and into Friday morning. Two of the incidents were directly related to weather conditions, including a vehicle hydroplaning off U.S. 90 east in Calumet and another hydroplaning off La. 3215 in Garden City, Spokeswoman Traci Landry said in an email.
As of 8:30 a.m., Morgan City didn’t have any streets closures or flooding, said City Public Works Supervisor Jean Paul Bourg. He also serves on the parish drainage board in Morgan City. The drainage pumps were working well this morning with mostly light rain falling, Bourg said.
Workers were installing a backup pump at a pumping station near the Port of Morgan City, just in case the extra pumping capacity is needed during a downpour, Bourg said.
No flooding was reported in the unincorporated parts of St. Mary Parish, Parish Homeland Security Director Duval Arthur said. There was some flooding in a subdivision near the La. 318 overpass project in west St. Mary Parish, he said.
Sandbags are available for Patterson residents, as a precautionary measure, at the Patterson Volunteer Fire Department at the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Progressive Lane. Residents can call City Hall at 985-395-5205 for more information.
Berwick Mayor Louis Ratcliff said the town didn’t have flooding as of 9 a.m. today, but officials were “keeping a close eye” on the weather and making sure the drainage pumps are running properly and ditches are clear.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said high water has closed Interstate 55 southbound near Amite.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Washington Tangipahoa, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge and portions of St. Tammany, Pointe Coupee and Ascension parishes until 1 p.m. Friday.
The weather service said in a statement that an addition 3 inches to 5 inches could fall over the warning area. All of southeast Louisiana remains under a flood watch until Saturday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.