New Orleans officials remained on guard Saturday as Tropical Storm Harvey continued to wreak havoc over southeast Texas, claiming at least one life and causing many injuries.

However, the system, which was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane to a tropical storm within hours after it made landfall near Corpus Christi, is now expected to produce less rainfall in New Orleans than was once thought.

Rather than 5 to 10 inches of rain over the next few days and potentially double that if the city got caught under a rain band, Harvey probably will bring only 4 to 8 inches of rain over that length of time starting Sunday, city officials said Saturday.

And rain bands as far out as New Orleans aren’t as likely, as the storm appears likely to remain over Texas for a few more days, eventually heading north and perhaps toward northwest h and then Arkansas, not edging close to southwest h as once feared, National Weather Service forecasters said.

The high-pressure ridge that had been seen as possibly pushing Harvey back over the Gulf is now also less of a threat, as that ridge doesn’t have enough power to force Harvey down into the warm Gulf waters from which the storm could draw renewed strength, forecaster Gavin Phillips said.

Harvey claimed at least one life in Rockport, Texas, and injured at least a dozen other people after it smashed through homes and businesses and poured torrential rains on streets along the Texas coast. The former hurricane was expected to remain at tropical storm status through Sunday before diminishing to a tropical depression by Monday.

But even though the New Orleans area’s outlook has improved, officials in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes continued their storm preparations Saturday and urged residents to be on guard.

The New Orleans Police Department, for example, continued with its plans to set up 146 barricades near flood-prone areas, including under 11 overpasses and at certain intersections.

The new barricades, brightly colored and highly visible to drivers, will be chained to streetlights and other posts near those areas until rain begins to fall on Sunday. Then, police will put them out as a warning for drivers, Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said Saturday.

If there is serious flooding, Harrison said, the NOPD will divide up into teams dedicated to search and rescue, evacuation assistance if an evacuation is called, security for shelters and looting enforcement.

Officers will also continue to respond to calls for service as needed, but Harrison asked the public not to call should a deluge begin except in cases of emergency.

“That’s so we always stay free to be able to perform those rescue operations that we need to perform,” he said.

As of Saturday, there was nothing new to report on the city's drainage system, which remains diminished, with only three of five power-generating turbines and 106 of 120 pumps operable. The city does have 26 backup generators, which will stay in place through hurricane season. 

In Jefferson, Chief Operating Officer Keith Conley said Saturday that the parish’s crews were continuing to clean culverts and catch basins.

“I know there’s been a deviation in the path that the hurricane was supposed to take,” Conley said. “But we are not letting our guard down until we have definite answers.”

St. Charles Parish government spokesman Tristan Babin said officials were staying on alert, given the wide variations in forecast models. The parish's Emergency Operations Center will have additional staff on hand as the rain continues to fall this week, he said.

And in St. Bernard, where problems at three pumping stations had put that parish’s drainage system at only 83 percent of capacity as of Thursday, Parish President Guy McInnis said he’s still monitoring the situation. He has said the pumping problems should not impede St. Bernard’s ability to drain its streets.

“So far, so good for us,” he said. “But we are obviously praying for the people of Texas, and their recovery.”

Follow Jessica Williams on Twitter, @jwilliamsNOLA​.

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