The National Weather Service has issued a weather alert as strong thunderstorms pound the New Orleans metro area:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
925 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2012
...CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING SOUTHEAST AFFECTING ORLEANS PARISH...UPPER ST. BERNARD PARISH...
AT 923 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NEAR EAST NEW ORLEANS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
THE CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND AROUND...CHALMETTE...VIOLET AND EAST NEW ORLEANS.
THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THESE STORMS ARE FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH...WHICH COULD DOWN TREE LIMBS AND BLOW AROUND UNSECURED SMALL OBJECTS. SEEK SHELTER IN A SAFE HOME OR BUILDING UNTIL THESE STORMS HAVE PASSED.
THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME...RESULTING IN PONDING OF WATER AROUND LOW LYING ROADWAYS. REMEMBER...DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO WATER COVERED ROADWAYS. THE DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW A SAFE CROSSING.
Watch Bob Breck's weathercasts at FOX 8 News at 10 and monitor FOX8Live.com for updates.
