Claudette made landfall as a tropical storm in southeast Louisiana early Saturday morning, June 19^th causing floods in Slidell, Louisiana through the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

New Orleans was spared from the worst of the storm. A flash flood watch issued for the Crescent City was lifted overnight on Saturday.

Most of the rain from Claudette pummeled east of Louisiana. Forecasts called for heavy rain across coastal Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of the Florida panhandle. The National Hurricane Center warned of up to 15-inches of rain.

Claudette is the third named storm of the 2021 Hurricane Season. Tropical Storm Ana formed in May in the Atlantic and Tropical Storm Bill formed in the Atlantic.

The storm skirted New Orleans traveling about 30 miles north of the city. It was moving northeast at 12 mph. It turned toward the northeast later on Saturday.

Claudette weakened to a tropical depression Saturday night and became a post tropical storm on Sunday, but was reclassified as a tropical storm again on Monday when it was over eastern North Carolina before heading out to see in the Atlantic Ocean.

The storm generated rain that totaled between 5-inches to 10-inches. There were isolated reports of a maximum of 15-inches across sections of the central Gulf Coast.

Water levels when the peak surge occurred were estimated to be:

• 2 to 3 feet in Morgan City, Louisiana to Okaloosa/Walton County Line in Florida
• 2 to 3 feet at Lake Borgne and Mobile Bay
• 1 to 2 feet at Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas
• 1 to 2 feet at Oklaloosa/Walton County Line to Panama City in Florida
• 1 to 2 feet at Pensacola Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay, and Saint Andrew Bay
• 1 to 2 feet at Cameron, Louisiana to Morgan City, Louisiana
• 1 to 2 feet at Vermilion Bay

Tropical storm winds ravished the area along the Gulf Coast on Saturday and a few tornadoes were predicted for southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, the western Florida panhandle, and southwest Georgia.

Monday morning, June 21^st, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 40 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was located 65 miles east-southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina traveling east-northeast at 25 mph.

The storm was expected to head near or south of Nova Scotia on Tuesday, June 22^nd. About 1 to 2 inches of rain was expected for the Carolinas before the storm moved out to sea.

Power outages have occurred in the storm’s wake.

As of Wednesday, the residents of the following states were experiencing black outs:

• Florida 6,779
• North Carolina 4,074
• New Jersey 3,695
• Pennsylvania 2,554
• New York 1,666
• Virginia 1,453
• Georgia 1,256
• West Virginia 1,202
• Alabama 1,092

Forecasters predict an active hurricane season, which will no doubt lead to massive power outages. Residents of states that are susceptible to hurricanes can avoid the problem by purchasing a standby generator. APElectric is offering a wide assortment of generators manufactured by some of the most popular brands in the country. To review the APElectric generator stock visit the company’s website.