The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur dumped torrential rain across southeast ถถา๕h early Thursday and a tornado watch was in effect throughout the area, while the northshore kept a close eye on rising rivers.
Arthur became the first named storm of the season on Wednesday, but quickly lost power and degenerated into a low-pressure area along the Texas coast hours later. A 10 pm update from the National Hurricane Center said maximum winds were 35 mph, but the storm was rapidly weakening.
The threat of flooding and tornadoes remained, however.
A flood watch is in effect through Friday morning for most of southeast ถถา๕h as well as all of southwest and coastal Mississippi, the National Weather Service said. A tornado watch was in effect until 6 am Thursday for most of the area.
"We remain highly concerned about extreme rainfall amounts overnight," NWS forecasters said.
While not a major storm, overnight downpours associated with it posed serious concerns for much of south-central ถถา๕h. In the New Orleans area, St. Tammany Parish kept a close eye on rising rivers and emergency responders helped move residents out of the way on Wednesday. The Tchefuncte was already at major flood stage and water was on the road in some areas even before the arrival of the storm's remnants.
New Orleans and its south shore suburbs faced the risk of flash flooding, and and be prepared to shelter in place. The heaviest rainfall in the New Orleans area was expected to be over by around 11 am, and around 8 am for areas to the west, including Baton Rouge.
Ahead of the storm's arrival, NWS forecasters said some the worst rainfall would likely hit a corridor stretching from the River Parishes and into Baton Rouge, then across the northshore and coastal Mississippi, potentially approaching 10 inches in certain locations. With the ground already saturated, rain at such an intensity would "quickly lead to considerable and life-threatening flash-flooding concerns tonight into tomorrow morning," forecasters said Wednesday afternoon.
Forecasters changed the projected path as the wide center of the disorganized storm moved back inland over Texas on Wednesday afternoon.ย National Hurricane Center Senior Forecaster Brad Reinhart said "the circulation center has become more diffuse and less defined over the past couple hours, making it difficult to track with much confidence."
The change meant it was now forecast to move into Texas rather than skirt the coastline in the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall in ถถา๕h.
While street flooding in New Orleans is a habitual worry, much of the focus was on St. Tammany given the storm's projected path. The Tchefuncte near Folsom was already at 21 feet โ considered a major flooding level โ as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Kenny Walsh secures a boat east of Slidell ahead of Tropical Storm Arthur on La. 1077 near Folsom, Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Folsom firefighters helped with the evacuations of around five homes on Park Lane Road along the Tchefuncte, said Adam Shields of the Folsom fire department.ย Water had covered sections of the road near La. 40 as of Wednesday afternoon.
โThe rainfall is the primary threat. The secondary threat is whatโs happening with the rivers,โ said Clint Ory, St. Tammany Parishโs emergency operations director.
Ory said the parish was also monitoring Tchefuncte levels by U.S. 190 near Covington, as well as some of the parishโs numerous other rivers, including the Bogue Falaya.
WWL ถถา๕h chief meteorologist Chris Franklin warned viewers on Wednesday: "If you're living near those rivers, I would definitely be out of there."
'See what comes our way'
Some of the highest rainfall totals were predicted for parts of Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Overall, Arthur is expected to dump 5 to 10 inches of rain, with up to 20 inches possible in spots. The New Orleans area was expected to see lower amounts of potentially 1 to 2 inches, though specific locations could see higher amounts.
The storm wobbled from the Gulf onto the Texas coast late Wednesday afternoon with maximum winds of 45 mph and began weakening as it moved over land. The tornado threat would peak between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday, weather service forecasters said.ย
While stormy conditions will ease later Thursday, heat will then become an issue. The heat index, or "feels like temperature" that takes humidity into account, could reach above 100 degrees in some areas in the storm's aftermath, according to forecasters.
Mayor Helena Moreno holds a preference about Tropical Storm Arthur preparations at City Hall in New Orleans, Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
"We are asking the people of New Orleans to really do what city government has done, and that is to just be prepared, stay weather alert, and we'll see what comes our way," New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said at an afternoon briefing.ย
The Sewerage & Water Board had lowered canal levels to increase stormwater storage capacity and was cleaning catch basins. S&WB Executive Director Randy Hayman said 87 of 93 major drainage pumps were available.
At the Carrollton Avenue underpass โ a frequent flooding hotspot โ crews had installed a temporary pump for the station's three nonfunctioning permanent pumps.
Filling sandbags
In Jefferson Parish, President Cynthia Lee Sheng said its Emergency Operations Center and pump stations will all be staffed to meet demand.
Lee Sheng said 196 of the parish's 198 pumps are operational. The two that are out of commission are at the Harvey pump station and the Pailet pump station, but both have additional pumping capacity.
"The good thing about it is hopefully it doesn't turn out to be an incident, but for us in emergency management and first response, we're going through all the motions as if we had very dangerous hazards coming our way," Lee Sheng said.ย
Sandbag filling locations had been announced around the metro area. In Algiers, a steady flow of people arrived for sandbags at the Morris F.X. Jeff Park and Behrman Stadium parking lot.
"We arenโt expecting to be overwhelmed by flooding, but itโs New Orleans. A 30-minute rain will have flooding," said Landon Williams, director of constituent services for New Orleans City Councilmember Freddie King.
Tammy Crumpton, a social worker from Algiers, planned to use sandbags to protect glass doors at her home.ย
โHopefully the water won't be in, and it won't get that high," she said.
With reports from Staff Writers Justin Mitchell, Lara Nicholson and Violet Bucaro.