Barry, which made landfall as a category 1 hurricane on Saturday then quickly weakened to a tropical storm, was 15 miles (25 km) east-southeast of Shreveport with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles (65 km) per hour early Sunday afternoon.
Fears that Barry might devastate the low-lying city of New Orleans like Hurricane Katrina did in 2005 were unfounded, but rain in the forecast could still cause life-threatening flooding until Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Sixty-five miles southeast of New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish, part of which lies below sea level, residents received mandatory evacuation orders ahead of Barry’s impact.
Up to 15 inches of rain were expected in some parts of south-central Louisiana on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
The rain was expected to raise the already flooded Mississippi River but not overtop the levees.
(Production: Deborah Lutterbeck)