Tracking Francine: A look at conditions across Mississippi

THOSE WHO ARE JUST NOW WAKING UP. GOOD MORNING. HAPPY THURSDAY. WE'RE STILL TRACKING FRANCINE THIS MORNING. TROPICAL STORM STRENGTH WITH MAXIMUM WINDS AROUND 50 MILES AN HOUR WITHIN THAT CENTER. WE'RE GETTING SOME DRIER AIR ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE STORM. SO DRIER CONDITIONS NOW MAKING ITS WAY INTO SOUTH LOUISIANA. WE ARE NOW IN THE BRUNT OF THIS STORM, PROVIDING THE CHANCE FOR HEAVY RAIN AS WELL AS GUSTY WINDS. HERE'S ANOTHER VIEW ON THAT WATER VAPOR. YOU CAN SEE THAT DRY AIR WRAPPING AROUND THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF IT. THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY BENEFICIAL. LATER THIS MORNING BECAUSE ONCE THE HEAVY RAIN CLEARS YOUR AREA, WE SHOULD START TO SEE SOME DRYING OUT. NOW THE WIND IS STILL GOING TO STICK AROUND THROUGHOUT THE DAY TODAY, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS COULD ACTUALLY HELP LIMIT FOR A COUPLE OF PLACES OF FLOOD THREAT AND KEEP A LOT OF THAT RAIN TO THE NORTH. SO BENEFITS OF SEEING THAT DRY AIR IN PLACE PAST 24 HOURS DOWN TOWARDS THIBODAUX, OVER TOWARDS NEW ORLEANS AND HAMMOND. LOTS OF FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS. SOME PLACES GOT UP TO FOUR INCHES OF RAIN IN A MATTER OF TWO HOURS. RAINFALL TOTALS IN THE PAST 24 HOURS IN SPOTS 7 TO 10IN. NOT AS MUCH. HEHERE, I'LL SHOW YOU THAT IN JT A SECOND. BUT THE POWER OUTAGES DOWN TOWARDS LOUISIANA, SUBSTANTIAL, WELL OVER 7000 CUSTOMERS IN THE DARK OVER TOWARDS ORLEANS PARISH. GOLDEN MEADOW AS WELL AS GONZALES SEEING OVER 2500 CUSTOMERS IN THE DARK THIS MORNING FOR US HERE IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI, WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH THE RAIN BANDS. IT'S GOING TO STICK WITH US FOR SEVERAL HOURS TODAY. SO IF YOU ARE UP EARLY AND YOU HAVE TO GET OUT THE DOOR LATER THIS MORNING, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF THAT EXTRA TIME. RAIN FALL IS NOT THE ONLY THREAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. THIS MORNING EITHER. WE'RE ALSO MONITORING SOME OF THE GUSTS INITITIALLY MEASURING DOWN TOWARDS HATTIESBURG, ALMOST 40 MILES AN HOUR, 30 MILE AN HOUR. GUSTS OVER TOWARDS THE AIRPORT AND DOWN TOWARDS MCCOMB. AROUND 30 MILE AN HOUR GUSTS. REAL QUICK. LET'S GET ONE LAST LOOP OF WHAT THE RADAR IS DEALING WITH THIS MORNING WITH THOSE HEAVY RAIN BANDS FROM VICKSBURG TO CANTON, AS WELL AS DOWN TOWARDS CRYSTAL SPRINGS AND BROOKHAVEN, WE SHOULD START TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS ON THIS AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE LATER PART OF THE MORNING. ERIN AND CECIL. >> THANK YOU. WELL, FRANCINE IS NOW MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND ALL OF THAT WIND AND RAIN DEFINITELY IS PICKING UP IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI, ESPECIALLY IN SIMPSON COUNTY. >> THAT'S WHERE 16 WAPT MICHAILA FRANKLIN IS LIVE FOR US RIGHT NOW. MICHAELA, TELL US WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE. >> YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, ERIN, IT IS COMING DOWN IN SIMPSON COUNTY. WE ARE IN MCGEE AT THE LOVE'S TRUCK STOP RIGHT OFF OF HIGHWAY 49. AND YOU CAN JUST KIND OF SEE JUST HOW THIS RAIN IS COMING DOWN SIDEWAYS. IT'S REALLY JUST HITTING MY BACK RIGHT NOW. I WANT TO TAKE YOU OVER TO THIS DRAIN HERE UNDERNEATH WHERE THE GAS PUMPS ARE. YOU CAN JUST SEE HOW MUCH WATER IS FALLING IN SIMPSON COUNTY. IT IS COMING DOWN FROM THIS DRAIN. A LOT OF WATER IS FALLING. YOU CAN HEAR FEEL THOSE GUSTS OF WIND THAT CHRISTANA KAY AND ISABEL HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. YEAH, THEY REALLY DO FEEL LIKE 30 TO 40 MILES, YOU KNOW, AT ONE TIME IT FEELS LIKE IT'S NOT RAINING HARD, BUT ALL IT TAKES IS THAT GUST OF WIND TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DYNAMIC FROM THAT RAIN. YOU KNOW, JUST DRIVING UP HIGHWAY 49 FROM JACKSON INTO SIMPSON COUNTY. THOSE ROADS ARE SLICK. IF YOU ARE TRAVELING THIS MORNING, YOU'LL DEFINITELY WANT TO SLOW DOWN 10 TO 15 MILE PER HOUR SLOWER THAN WHAT YOU NONORMALLY WOULD GO. THESE ROADS ARE SLICK. THIS WATER IS STANDING AND CONDITIONS HAVE DEFINITELY ARE MUCH WORSE THAN WHEN WE INITIALLY DROVE HERE. PROBABLY ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AGO. IT IS DEFINITELY COMING DOWN A LOT HARDER. THE WIND HAS PICKED UP SIGNIFICANTLY. YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S RAINING SIDEWAYS FROM THE FRONT. NOT A WHOLE LOT OF WATER HERE, BUT IF I TURN AROUND AND SHOW YOU MY BACK, I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT I'M DRENCHED. BECAUSE AS I MENTIONED, I AM STANDING WITH MY BACK TO THE RAIN RIGHT NOW FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. BUT YEAH, IF YOU ARE COMING THROUGH, SIMPSON COUNTY, IF YOU HAVE TO TAKEKE HIGHWAY 49, THE WATER IS COMING DOWN THE RAIN RATHER, AND THERE IS DEFINITELY STANDING WATER ON THE HIGHWAY, SOMETHING YOU'LL DEFINITELY WANT TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT AS YOU HEAD OUT THE DOOR THIS MORNING. IF YOU DO HAVE TO BE OUT ON THE ROAD, IF YOU DON'T STAY HOME, WE ARE OUT HERE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE. BUT YEAH, GUYS, THAT'S THAT'S JUST THE VERY LATEST HERE IN SIMPSON COUNTY. AS YOU CAN SEE, THINGS DEFINITELY PICK UP PERIODICALLY. BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE HERE. WE'RE GOING TO BE MONITORING THE CONDITIONS HERE FOR YOU ALL WHO HAVE TO TRAVEL THROUGH SIMPSON COUNTY TO THE MORNING GUYS. BACK TO YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SO MUCH, MICHAELA. NOW IN LOUISIANA, FRANCINE BROUGHT LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE AND EXTREME FLASH FLOODING TO SEVERAL AREAS, INCLUDING NEW ORLEANS. JONAH GILMORE FROM OUR SISTER STATION, WDSU, IS AT THE CANAL UNDERPASS WHERE THE WATER HAS SINCE RECEDED. >> SINCE THAT DRAMATIC HIGH WATER RESCUE HOURS AGO. TAKE A LOOK. >> HERE AT THE CANAL UNDERPASS, WE'RE GETTING A LOOK AT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE WATER, YOU CAN SEE THAT WATER HERE AT THE CANAL UNDERPASS IS STARTING TO DRAIN SLOWLY. THESE ORANGE BARRIERS THAT WE SEE RIGHT HERE WAS ONCE COVERED IN WATER. NOW YOU CAN VISIBLY SEE THESE BARRIERS. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THIS SIGN RIGHT HERE THAT'S FLASHING RED. THAT SAYS ROAD CLOSED. THAT WATER WAS SO HIGH PARTIALLY COVERING THIS SIGN IN THE DISTANCE. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT PICKUP TRUCK THAT WAS ONCE SUBMERGED IN THE WATER HERE THAT TRUCK HAS SOMEONE IN IT. THAT MAN HAD TO BE RESCUED BY A GOOD SAMARITAN BREAKING THE WINDOW, PULLING THAT MAN OUT OF THE VEHICLE AROUND THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, SEVERAL STREETS ARE STILL FLOODED. WE KNOW THESE UNDERPASSES ARE PRONE TO FLOOD. SO AREAS YOU WANT TO AVOID INCLUDE THE CANAL UNDERPASS. YOU SEE HERE, THE CARROLLTON UNDERPASS, THE UNDERPASS AT FRANKLIN AVENUE. WE KNOW THAT CITY OFFICIALS ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO SHELTER IN PLACE AND TO NOT GO OUT RIGHT NOW ON THE ROADS, BUT IF YOU'RE DRIVING AROUND, YOU DO WANT TO AVOID CERTAIN AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO FLOOD. WE SPOKE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JOE GIARRUSSO, WHO TELLS US, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SHOULD JUST WAIT IT OUT, GO INSIDE, GO TO SLEEP, AND THEN COME OUT IN THE MORNING. HOPEFULLY THAT THIS WATER IS GONE. BUT THIS IS THE CONDITION WE'RE SEEING RIGHT HERE AT THE CANAL UNDERPASS. HOPEFULLY THIS WATER IS ALL GONE BY MORNING AS THIS HAS BEEN A FLOODED AREA THROUGHOUT THE DAY. REPORTING AT THE CANAL UNDERPASS. I'M JONAH GILMORE. >> NOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF POWER OUTAGES BECAUSE OF THIS STORM, AND SHE'S REPORTING THE LATEST UPDATE IS JUST NEARLY 2200 OVER 2200 OUTAGES SO FAR IN OUR STATE. >> IN LOUISIANA, THE NUMBER IS SLOWLY DECREASING. ENTERGY IS REPORTING MORE THAN 298,000 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER. OUR LAST UPDATE ABOUT AN HOUR AGO, IT WAS 300,000, A CHANGE FROM 300,000. LIKE WE TOLD YOU, JUST WE SAW ABOUT 30, 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR AGO. >> AS THE STORM CONTINUES TO MOVE THROUGH OUR AREA, WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU UPDATED FOR THE LATEST ON WHAT IS LEFT OF FRANCINE, HEAD TO OUR WEBSITE WAPT.COM OR DOWNLOAD THE 16 WAPT MOBILE APP NOW. >> IN OTHER BREAKING NEWS, THIS MORNING, JACKSON FIREFIGHTERS AT THE SCENE OF A HOUSE FIRE DURING THE STORM. >> IT'S ON GARDEN PARK DRIVE IN SOUTH JACKSON. WE HAD A 16 WAPT CREW THAT WAS THERE. THEY'RE WORKING TO GET SOME INFORMATION N FOR US. THEY SAY WITNESSES SO FAR SAY THIS IS THE THIRD HOUSE FIRE. THIS HAPPENED IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD THIS YEAR. WE'LL CONTINUE TO GET UPDATES FOR YOU AS IT COMES INTO