Francine has weakened to a tropical depression as it moves across south central Mississippi. Officials with the National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm at 7 a.m. Thursday as winds dipped down to 35 mph.Still, the storm is dropping heavy rainfall across portions of Mississippi, bringing with it the chance of flash flooding.The storm made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, with winds around 100 mph. It was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland and into Mississippi, then to a depression as it moved over central portions of the state.View all power outages | Track Francine using our Interactive Radar | School ClosingsWith heavy winds and drenching rains, the system blacked out more than 300,000 homes and businesses across Louisiana and Mississippi while sending storm surge rushing into coastal communities. Some 4 to 6 inches of rain are possible in portions of Mississippi and neighboring states, forecasters said, warning of the potential threat of scattered flash flooding.There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.The worst of the rain and wind for central Mississippi will linger into the Thursday morning hours, moving out around 10 a.m.. Power outages will be greatest south of the metro and toward the coast, but all of central Mississippi could see outages of some caliber.Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches in some spots, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. Reeves said more than 100,000 sandbags were deployed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to counties in preparation for the storm.BELOW VIDEO: Tropical Storm Francine moves across MississippiDownload the free WAPT app to track the tropics. Five WAPT app features that you may have missed.
Francine has weakened to a tropical depression as it moves across south central Mississippi.
Officials with the National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm at 7 a.m. Thursday as winds dipped down to 35 mph.
Still, the storm is dropping heavy rainfall across portions of Mississippi, bringing with it the chance of flash flooding.
The storm made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane around 5 p.m. Wednesday in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, with winds around 100 mph. It was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland and into Mississippi, then to a depression as it moved over central portions of the state.
View all power outages | Track Francine using our Interactive Radar | School Closings
With heavy winds and drenching rains, the system blacked out more than 300,000 homes and businesses across Louisiana and Mississippi while sending storm surge rushing into coastal communities.
Some 4 to 6 inches of rain are possible in portions of Mississippi and neighboring states, forecasters said, warning of the potential threat of scattered flash flooding.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
The worst of the rain and wind for central Mississippi will linger into the Thursday morning hours, moving out around 10 a.m.. Power outages will be greatest south of the metro and toward the coast, but all of central Mississippi could see outages of some caliber.
Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches in some spots, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. Reeves said more than 100,000 sandbags were deployed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to counties in preparation for the storm.
BELOW VIDEO: Tropical Storm Francine moves across Mississippi
Download the free WAPT app to track the tropics. Five WAPT app features that you may have missed.
