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CNN Live At Daybreak

Bracing For Tropical Storm Bill

Aired June 30, 2003 - 06:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Where the heck did he come from, Bill? He just suddenly appeared and people along the Louisiana coast are now bracing for Tropical Storm Bill. At last check, Chad tells us Bill is about 130 miles south of Morgan City, packing 50 mile an hour winds. But Chad says it could get stronger, could become a hurricane later today. We don't know.
Reporter Scott Simmons of our affiliate station WDSU joins us live from New Orleans with more -- good morning.

What's it like there now?

SCOTT SIMMONS, WDSU CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty busy, if you can believe that, Carol, this early in the morning. The city has already closed 25 floodgates that surround the hurricane protection system of the city. They're bracing for what is certain to be perhaps more insult to injury.

You know, the past two weeks, we've been flooded here with a couple of serious batches of rain that have brought floodwaters into most every neighborhood or most -- many of the streets in the downtown area. This is a waterlogged city right now, which is really in a bad situation. You remember, New Orleans is six feet under sea level. So when we get a lot of rain in a short amount of time, the city's pump system, while vast, simply cannot handle that much water.

The problem, again, though, is that because we've had so much rain in such a short period of time, over two weeks, the ground's saturated in this area. So they're already bracing for one certainty, and that is a lot of floodwater. Perhaps ironic that it was like 1957, I think, when Hurricane Audrey came across Louisiana doing massive damage. Here they hope that will not be the case.

Right now, of course, we're talking about a tropical storm that could become a category one.

But remember, again, when we talk about an area that has such low sea level, a category one hurricane is a potential problem -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I can understand that. And I think last year Lily and Isadore did come ashore and I know there was flooding last year.

How much damage did that cause and is that taken care of today?

SIMMONS: We had some pretty good damage, if you can believe that, a few big storms back to back, one over the Grand Isle area, the other over what we know as Acadiana, that eight parish area in Louisiana known as Southwest Louisiana. It was pretty big damage, a lot of floodwater, a lot of wind blown damage, power lines and homes. The Lafayette area, in some spots, was out of power for almost two weeks over -- it was a really big problem to get over with. You know, a lot of downed power lines, a lot of home damage, not many fatalities or deaths in that regard, which you always consider to be a good break whenever we look at a storm that comes across Louisiana.

COSTELLO: Well, much luck to you and the rest of the folks living in New Orleans this morning.

Scott Simmons from WDSU, our affiliate station in New Orleans, joining us live.

Let's go to the Weather Center now and check in with Chad.

Scott mentioned a category one.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

COSTELLO: What is that?

MYERS: That is the smallest category of a hurricane. When we talk about tropical storms, we talk about something between about 35 miles and 45 miles per hour. This one, Bill now, at 50 miles per hour. But you have to get above and into that 73, 74 and 75 mile per hour category to get in and transfer from that tropical storm to what we call a hurricane, and right now only Tropical Storm Bill, flying you into the storm. It's getting very close to the shore now of Louisiana.

It really developed in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. This didn't come from Africa and then through the islands and then up across Cuba. This thing just developed about 150 miles south of where it is right now and it's now sitting up there. A hurricane watch all the way from Morgan City right on back to Intercoastal City, Louisiana, and then a tropical storm warning all the way from Pascagoula right on back through High Island.

There are the numbers if you're tracking it. Home, 27.6 and 91.6. And that's about 150 miles south of Morgan City. Now, remember, the numbers that you see here are officially one hour and 25 minutes old. Only update them about every three hours. And so, if we're moving to the north at 14, for an hour and a half, that's about, oh, 21 or so miles it's already moved since this number has already come out. So we're looking at about 110 miles south of Morgan City right now. This is actually going to come right onshore today, somewhere between about one and about three o'clock this afternoon, and we are going to see significantly heavy rain for Louisiana all the way from New Orleans right on back, for that matter, as far east as right now into Pascagoula, and very heavy rain for Mobile.

And not only the eye going to be affected here, but many areas, with areas of rainfall now expected between eight and 10 inches. That will cause some flooding even if you're nowhere near the hurricane -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understand.

Chad, many thanks.

We'll get back to you.

MYERS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 30, 2003 - 06:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Where the heck did he come from, Bill? He just suddenly appeared and people along the Louisiana coast are now bracing for Tropical Storm Bill. At last check, Chad tells us Bill is about 130 miles south of Morgan City, packing 50 mile an hour winds. But Chad says it could get stronger, could become a hurricane later today. We don't know.
Reporter Scott Simmons of our affiliate station WDSU joins us live from New Orleans with more -- good morning.

What's it like there now?

SCOTT SIMMONS, WDSU CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty busy, if you can believe that, Carol, this early in the morning. The city has already closed 25 floodgates that surround the hurricane protection system of the city. They're bracing for what is certain to be perhaps more insult to injury.

You know, the past two weeks, we've been flooded here with a couple of serious batches of rain that have brought floodwaters into most every neighborhood or most -- many of the streets in the downtown area. This is a waterlogged city right now, which is really in a bad situation. You remember, New Orleans is six feet under sea level. So when we get a lot of rain in a short amount of time, the city's pump system, while vast, simply cannot handle that much water.

The problem, again, though, is that because we've had so much rain in such a short period of time, over two weeks, the ground's saturated in this area. So they're already bracing for one certainty, and that is a lot of floodwater. Perhaps ironic that it was like 1957, I think, when Hurricane Audrey came across Louisiana doing massive damage. Here they hope that will not be the case.

Right now, of course, we're talking about a tropical storm that could become a category one.

But remember, again, when we talk about an area that has such low sea level, a category one hurricane is a potential problem -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I can understand that. And I think last year Lily and Isadore did come ashore and I know there was flooding last year.

How much damage did that cause and is that taken care of today?

SIMMONS: We had some pretty good damage, if you can believe that, a few big storms back to back, one over the Grand Isle area, the other over what we know as Acadiana, that eight parish area in Louisiana known as Southwest Louisiana. It was pretty big damage, a lot of floodwater, a lot of wind blown damage, power lines and homes. The Lafayette area, in some spots, was out of power for almost two weeks over -- it was a really big problem to get over with. You know, a lot of downed power lines, a lot of home damage, not many fatalities or deaths in that regard, which you always consider to be a good break whenever we look at a storm that comes across Louisiana.

COSTELLO: Well, much luck to you and the rest of the folks living in New Orleans this morning.

Scott Simmons from WDSU, our affiliate station in New Orleans, joining us live.

Let's go to the Weather Center now and check in with Chad.

Scott mentioned a category one.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

COSTELLO: What is that?

MYERS: That is the smallest category of a hurricane. When we talk about tropical storms, we talk about something between about 35 miles and 45 miles per hour. This one, Bill now, at 50 miles per hour. But you have to get above and into that 73, 74 and 75 mile per hour category to get in and transfer from that tropical storm to what we call a hurricane, and right now only Tropical Storm Bill, flying you into the storm. It's getting very close to the shore now of Louisiana.

It really developed in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. This didn't come from Africa and then through the islands and then up across Cuba. This thing just developed about 150 miles south of where it is right now and it's now sitting up there. A hurricane watch all the way from Morgan City right on back to Intercoastal City, Louisiana, and then a tropical storm warning all the way from Pascagoula right on back through High Island.

There are the numbers if you're tracking it. Home, 27.6 and 91.6. And that's about 150 miles south of Morgan City. Now, remember, the numbers that you see here are officially one hour and 25 minutes old. Only update them about every three hours. And so, if we're moving to the north at 14, for an hour and a half, that's about, oh, 21 or so miles it's already moved since this number has already come out. So we're looking at about 110 miles south of Morgan City right now. This is actually going to come right onshore today, somewhere between about one and about three o'clock this afternoon, and we are going to see significantly heavy rain for Louisiana all the way from New Orleans right on back, for that matter, as far east as right now into Pascagoula, and very heavy rain for Mobile.

And not only the eye going to be affected here, but many areas, with areas of rainfall now expected between eight and 10 inches. That will cause some flooding even if you're nowhere near the hurricane -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understand.

Chad, many thanks.

We'll get back to you.

MYERS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com