NEW ORLEANS — A couple of heavy bursts of rain that fell at rates of 3-4 inches per hour sent water on to roadways in and around the New Orleans metro area, slowing traffic and stalling some cars that decided to try to make their way through the standing water.
New Orleans lifted restrictions for people parking their vehicles on the neutral ground to avoid having their cars ruined by rising water. Given that another round of bad weather was expected Tuesday morning, the lifting of restrictions could remain in place.
Video from Eyewitness News crews and viewers showed water in streets but not in cars and not in businesses, though in some cases it came perilously close.
Flooded roads in Orleans were reported on:
- Lakeshore Drive
- Marconi Underpass near City Park
- Marconi Drive at Florida Blvd.
- Elysian Fields Avenue at Abundance Street
Rain was falling at a rate of nearly an inch in a half an hour, according to WWL-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Franklin.
Just this past weekend heavy rains from Tropical Storm Claudette caused road and home flooding in Slidell and Pearl River areas of St. Tammany and heavy rain also left the ground in the metro New Orleans area saturated.
The systems are putting down an average of three inches of rain per hour.
Some cars were stalled either by going in the water or by stopping to avoid it under the Marconi underpass near City Park.
Slidell, which saw up to 10 inches of rain Friday night from Claudette, saw close to 3 inches Monday afternoon in some areas.