Francine was downgraded to a tropical storm but the danger is far from over: Live Updates

Louisiana residents in path of Hurricane Francine should "hunker down" for the rest of Wednesday until the storm clears the state sometime around midnight.

"We are at H-hour where the hurricane will be making its impact on Louisiana," Gov. Jeff Landry said in his final pre-landfall press conference Wednesday. "We are ready to answer whatever Francine delivers to us. Now is the time to stay home and stay put. It's on our doorstep as we speak."

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Deputies rescue multiple families in Thibodaux

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced deputies rescued multiple families in the Thibodaux area on Wednesday night who were trapped due to rising water following Hurricane Francine. A total of 26 people were rescued and most were transported to the emergency shelter at the Lockport Community Center.

At around 7:30 p.m., deputies responded to a call of residents trapped in housing units on Lasseigne Road in Thibodaux due to rising water caused by rainfall. All residents, including many small children, were safely evacuated from the units. Deputies also rescued residents from rising waters in other areas in Thibodaux and in the Kraemer community.

Deputies will have an increased presence in Lafourche Parish overnight. Most of the parish is out of power, and a curfew is in effect until 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 12. They will work to clear roadways overnight to allow restoration efforts to begin on Thursday morning.

Thousands without power across multiple

More than 80% of electricity customers in three parishes along Francine’s path were without electricity at 10 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to USA TODAY’s power outage tracker. That included 92% of the customers, about 25,000, in Terrebonne Parish. At least 85% of Lafourche Parish customers were without electricity and 80% of those in Assumption Parish.

In total, more than 287,000 customers were without electricity in the state, including 58,000 in Jefferson Parish and 36,000 in Orleans Parish. The energy provider in New Orleans, Entergy, advised customers via social media that its trucks would not be sent out until after winds dropped below 30 mph.

Francine downgraded to a tropical storm

Francine was downgraded to a tropical storm by the hurricane center in a 10 p.m. Central Time update, but its dangers are far from over.  It maximum sustained winds were still 70 mph, just below hurricane strength and up to 12 inches of rain was possible in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night.

Weather service meteorologist Christopher Bannan said during a briefing around 9 p.m. that the risks would continue across an area to the north and east of New Orleans for another couple of hours. The hurricane center said a Storm surge was expected across the northwestern portion of Lake Pontchartrain, with a rise of up to 6 feet possible.

Lafourche Parish extends curfew

Due to the impacts from Hurricane Francine, Lafourche Parish officials have extended the curfew currently in effect until 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 12. Everyone in Lafourche Parish should remain sheltered in place until that time. Lafourche a Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies are actively enforcing the curfew, and essential personnel should be carrying their ID or placard.

Phone services have also been affected. Please continue to contact 911 for emergencies. If you experience any issues dialing 911 or you otherwise need to contact the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, please call any of the following numbers:

(985) 413-5677

(985) 413-7158

(985) 413-7556

Thibodaux under flash flood warning

Sept. 11, 8:25 p.m.

The National Weather Service in New Orleans has extended the Flash Flood Warning for Central Lafourche Parish and Northeastern Terrebonne Parish until 9:30 p.m.

At 7:50 p.m., Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain in Thibodaux. Between 3 and 5 inches of rain have fallen. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall is possible in the warned area, where flash flooding is already occurring.

Wind gusts and rain pose significant risks as Francine moves inland.

Sept. 11, 8:00 p.m.

The Weather Prediction Center warned just after 7:30 p.m. that a significant flash flood potential may unfold in New Orleans as Francine pushes inland.The weather service urged people in a social media post to "stay off the roads and continue to shelter in place."  "We still have a ways to go before we are out of the woods."

Gusts up to 96 mph were reported at 5:29 p.m. in Dulac in Terrebonne Parish.

In St. Mary Parish, between 2 and 7 inches of rain had fallen by 5:42 p.m. and the weather service warned  additional rain was expected to cause flash flooding

Gusts to 70 mph were recorded at 7 p.m. about 5 miles east-southeast of New Orleans.

A tornado warning was issued at 7:19 p.m for St. Tammany Parish.

A river gauge on Bayou Lafourche at Thibodaux, rose about 3 feet in six hours and was still rising at 6:15 p.m., according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The water surged about 3.5 feet higher in under three hours at a gauge on Caillou Lake in Dulac, in Terrebonne Parish, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the water surged about 3.5 feet higher in under three hours at a gauge on Caillou Lake in Dulac, Terrebonne Parish

Flood warnings issued in Terrebonne Parish

Sept. 11, 7:15 p.m.

Between 3-4 inches of rain has fallen in the northeastern part of Terrebonne parish, and up to another three inches is expected, the weather service said at 7 p.m. in an extension of its flash flood warning.

Francine is the 10th storm to make landfall in Louisiana since 2000

Sept. 11, 6:32 p.m.

Francine is the 10th hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since 2000, and the third hurricane to make landfall in Terrebonne Parish. It's the eighth hurricane since then to make landfall at Category 2 strength or higher, said Phil Klotzbach, a senior research scientist at Colorado State University.

Those other landfalling hurricanes were:

2002, Lili, Cat. 1, Vermilion Bay, Iberia/Vermilion Parish2005, Katrina, Cat. 3, mouth of the Mississippi River, Plaquemines Parish2005, Rita, Cat. 3, Johnson’s Bayou, Cameron Parish2008, Gustav, Cat. 2, near Cocodrie, Terrebonne Parish2012, Isaac, Cat 1, Shell Beach, St. Bernard Parish2020, Laura, Cat. 4, Cameron, Cameron Parish2020, Delta, Cat. 2, Creole, Cameron Parish2020, Zeta, Cat. 3, Cocodrie, Terrebonne Parish2021, Ida, Cat. 4, Port Fourchon, LaFourche Parish

Hurricane Francine makes landfall in Terrebonne Parish

Hurricane Francine has made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles south-southwest of Morgan City as a Category 2 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center says. Maximum sustained winds are estimated to be near 100 mph.

Hurricane Francine brings huge eye wall, high winds and 3-5 inches of rain per hour

Sept. 11, 4:58 p.m.

Francine's eye as it approached the coast Wednesday was between 57-70 miles in diameter, according to a rough estimate by Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane-force winds extended out to 40 miles.

According to the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, the winds at the weather station on Eugene Island in Atchafalaya Bay gusted to 105 mph at 4:12 p.m. local time. NWS meteorologist Joe Rua just reported that rainfall rates are 3 to 5 inches per hour in the southern third of Saint Mary Parish.

Gulf shrimpers see increase in catch as Francine moves inland

Hurricane Francine closed in on Terrebonne and Lafourche with 100 mph winds Sept. 11. As the storm pushed tidal waters toward land, shrimp scurried for inland waters. Shrimpers took advantage of the migration, dropping nets and pulling in thousands of pounds in a short timeframe. The hauls were great, but the low prices meant what would have been a drop in the bucket, instead fell in an empty pail.

“We did good last night and the night before,” Jonathan Guidry said. “The shrimp was jumpin’ all over. They had some land nets on side of us. They was startin’ to pick up every 10 minutes, and they had maybe 120 to 130 pounds every 10 to 30 minutes.”

More: Shrimp scurry from Francine storm surge, filling fishing nets of struggling shrimpers

Tornado watches and warning issued by National Weather service as Hurricane Francine moves further inland

Sept. 11, 1:40 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Plaquemines Parish.

Tornado watches have been issued for several areas along the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans, Slidell, Baton Rouge and Houma.

'Time to evacuate has passed'

Sept. 11, 12:18 p.m.

"The time to evacuate has now passed," said Louisiana Homeland Security Secretary Jacques Thibodeaux. "It's time to hunker down."

Tony Robinson of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said President Biden's pre-landfall federal emergency declaration issued Tuesday night triggered immediate assistance for state and local governments in their response.

More: Louisiana residents warned to 'hunker down' for Hurricane Francine landfall Wednesday

Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall mid-day to evening with nearly 100 mph winds.

Sept. 11, 10:26 a.m.

As Hurricane Francine closes in on Louisiana’s coast the unusually large eye of the storm has limited its ability to intensify its winds. The storm, now traveling 13 mph, is expected to make landfall with 90 mph winds and gusts of 110 mph, according to the National Weather Service Senior Meteorologist Phil Grigsby on Wednesday morning.

The storm should make landfall near the Atchafalaya with storm surges of five to 10 feet  from Cameron to Port Fourchon of 5-10 feet, and four to seven feet from Port Fourchon to the Mississippi River. Lake Ponchtrain’s predicted storm surges have increased from three to five feet to four to six feet.

Grigsby, a 20 year veteran meteorologist, said this is the first time he’s ever seen a hurricane with an eye this large. The diameter of the eye, he explained, has limited its ability to intensify its wind strength.

“It’s quite interesting,” he said. “Think of it just like a figure skater, and whenever they close their arms up they spin faster and whenever they bring their arms out they slow down - that’s what’s happening.  If it’s a big enough eye, it just can’t close off as much and spin as fast.”

The winds may not be as intense, but Grigsby warned that Terrebonne and Lafourche still had the potential for storm surges, tornados, and heavy rainfall.

Curfew issued for Terrebonne Parish

Updated 8 a.m., Sept. 11: A parish-wide curfew is currently in place for Terrebonne Parish which started at 8 a.m. and will remain in effect until the storm has subsided and the roads are clear.

According to the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office who enacted the curfew, the storm’s winds are expected to hit Terrebonne by 10 a.m.

Greg Hilburn contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Francine was downgraded to a tropical storm but the danger is far from over: Live Updates