Hurricane Sally threatens Gulf Coast with a slow drenching

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Sally, one of a record-tying five storms churning simultaneously in the Atlantic, closed in on the Louisiana-Mississippi coast Monday with rapidly strengthening winds of at least 90 mph (145 kph) and the potential for up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain that could bring severe flooding.

Storm-weary Gulf Coast residents rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies ahead of the storm, which was expected to reach Louisiana’s southeastern tip around daybreak Tuesday and make its way sluggishly northward into Mississippi on a path that could menace the New Orleans metropolitan area and cause a long, slow drenching.

Forecasters said it could be a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph (169 kph) by the time it nears the coast. It could give Louisiana its second pounding from a hurricane in less than three weeks.

Jeremy Burke lifted things off the floor in case of flooding in his Bay Books bookstore in the Old Town neighborhood of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a popular weekend getaway from New Orleans, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) to the west. The streets outside were emptying fast.

https://apnews.com/4ea2a4cd36cceefad876d9e878cb5bc3