After I first arrived in New Orleans back in April 1978, we had the 1st “100 year flood” on May 3rd. 8-12 inches of rain swamped the pumping stations and travel around the city was difficult with water into many homes. 38 years later, 5-9”+ drenched the city with only minimal street flooding. Sure the amounts weren’t as great, but 3 other things were at play. 1) Pumping capacity has been increased , 2) we went nearly 4 weeks without rain and 3) the rain amounts were spread out over 2 days, never concentrated in only a few hours allowing the pumps to stay ahead of any flooding. The ground really soaked up the moisture and NWS cancelled most river flood warnings as levels quickly fell as a quick rise. We should see little rainfall for the next 4-5 days before another Gulf low could develop over the weekend. As I mentioned last night, we could see many Gulf Lows with this strong El Nino.
In the short term, Clouds and a leftover shower will linger into Tuesday afternoon. Sunshine will be back for Wed-Friday allowing our plants & lawns to really take off (grow) after these soaking rains. Stay tuned!
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