Tropical system expected to turn away from St. Mary

St. Mary Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness directors advise residents to watch weather conditions despite Tropical Depression Nine’s turn toward Florida.

The trajectory of the storm originally was expected to carry the system to the center of the Louisiana coast, where St. Mary is located, said Duval Arthur Jr., director of the parish’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

“So, we would’ve probably gotten some of that storm, if it would have continued on its trajectory,” Arthur said.

“However, there’s a front that’s going to start pushing that sometime, I think this afternoon, to the east. But let me just say, it all depends on when that storm makes the turn.”

At this point, the effects on St. Mary depend on how far north the storm goes before it makes the turn.

“We could see significant rain and high tides from that storm even though it’s not coming towards us,” Arthur said. “It’s still coming close enough to us in the Gulf that it would cause high tides and a lot of rain .”

The homeland security office is basing everything on National Weather Service reports and its computerized prediction of wind currents and the front coming down that it’s going to make a right turn.

Storms in the Atlantic, Tropical Depression 8 on the North Carolina coast and Tropical Depression 9 are all affected by the incoming front.

“It’s a blessing for us now because it’s going to push it away from us but unfortunately it’s going to hit Florida,” Arthur said. “I tell you right now, the only thing I would tell people is please watch the news.

“We’re counting on it going to the right, but who knows?”

Deputy Director Paul Rappmundt says that as far as storm preparations go, “we’re just kind of in a standby hold mode, seeing what’s going on.”

Arthur has made preparations for bottled water and standing orders for relief supplies, Rappmundt said. But basic preparations for a potential hurricane are to be on watch and be careful.

“Don’t turn your back on it,” Rappmundt said. “Right now, everybody just needs to be prepared. Don’t wait to the last minute.

“Make sure you don’t wait till last minute and everybody’s all of a sudden jumping up and down saying ‘all the stores are sold out of water,’ out of can goods and nonperishable foods that you can fix over a Coleman stove or something like that if you lose electricity. Just be prepared.”

In hindsight, residents need to prepare themselves because of the parish’s past experience with Hurricane Andrew.

“Everybody needs to watch and be prepared,” Rappmundt said. “We kind of got complacent for Hurricane Andrew because that was an El Nino year when everything happened.

“Next thing you know, Hurricane Andrew came in and … did all kinds of damage. Everybody was kind of like, wait, this wasn’t supposed to happen. But it did.”

Ultimately, meteorologists make predictions. And the hope is that a forecast is accurate.

“There’s only one person who can control this and that’s man upstairs,” Arthur said. “So, we’re hoping the Lord watches over us and the National Weather Service is right.”