2008 Storm Information

Hot Topic: Hurricane Ike

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Official announcements from the Beauregard Parish OEM will air on the following radio stations: KVVP 105.7, 106.7 and 95.7
September 19, 2008
Beauregard Parish residents are now included in the DSS Disaster Food Stamp Program. Additional information is available from the DSS news release and on the DSS Website
The registration site for Beauregard Parish will be VFW Post 3619, 1115 Highway 27, DeRidder. It will open at 8am and take applications through 6pm daily beginning Fri, Sept 19th. In order to reduce lines, DSS asks that people plan to register according to the last name. Applicants who receive food stamp benefits already or who received benefits from Hurricane Gustav do not need to reapply. Benefits will automatically be added to your card.
People 60 years of age and older should contact their local parish Councils on Aging for the nearest Disaster Food Stamp Assistance Application Site for seniors. If the local agency is not available, seniors may call 1-877-340-9100
September 16, 2008
Beauregard Water District No 2, Ward No 5 is on the Louisiana State List of water systems under boil advisory. For a complete list of systems and other storm information go to : emergency.louisiana.gov

September 15, 2008
The Beauregard Parish Library reopened as of 9am Monday, Sept 15. All branches except Singer are back on normal schedule. Singer will reopen as soon as power is restored to the building.
During Hurricane Ike, electronic services including the parishwide dialup lines and wireless remained available. Wireless was interrupted around some of the rural branches during power outages. Access to the Library via Internet, e-mail, and the Library's informational telephone system stayed up throughout the storm

September 14, 2008
8:00 pm Beauregard Electric Cooperative Inc. was reporting 68 percent of its customers out at 10 a.m. Saturday, including 10,464 in Beauregard Parish, 3,112 in Allen Parish, 1,950 in Vernon Parish and 250 in Rapides Parish. Beauregard and Sabine parish officials said the major problems in their areas were some downed limbs and power outages, but no structural damage and no reports of injures had been received. The Beauregard Parish Library has power, and will be open at 9:00 am Monday morning.

7 am update
The Lake Charles American Press is allowing free access to the on-line version of the paper during Hurricane Ike.
DeRidder Daily News is online with information on local conditions.

5:30 am update
From Library Staff We are accessing the situation at Library branches and will resume normal operations as soon as possible. As of this morning, dial up lines are operating parishwide and wireless should be available around the following branches: East Beauregard, DeRidder, Merryville, and South Beauregard. Wireless near the Fields and Singer branches is not currently available. Call the Library or check back here to see if any branches will be able to open on Monday.

Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP has announced that there will be a meeting about needs related to Hurricane Ike at 2pm today, Sunday, Sept 14 at the BPSO Training Center.

Important Reminder: If a traffic light is not functioning all drivers should stop and then follow the traffic rules for a 4 way stop sign.
The Louisiana State Police maintains a list of State and Federal Highway Road Closures

September 13, 2008
9:30 pm Conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form. Stay alert, and be prepared to seek shelter in the event that a warning is issued. Showery rains will be accompanied by very heavy downpours and strong gusty winds at times, especially this evening. Low 78F. S winds at 25 to 35 mph, diminishing to 10 to 20 mph. Rainfall possibly over one inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph. Dial up access is currently available at all locations, and wireless internet may be accessed around South Beauregard, East Beauregard and DeRidder branches. For Beauregard Parish Library updates and openings, please call 337- 463-6217. For emergency, please call your local sherrif's office. Current online hurricane information may be located at: http://emergency.louisiana.gov or National Hurricane Center

7:30 pm Tornado watch is still in effect until 2:00am for Beauregard Parish and surounding areas. As of this moment, Ike is located at the Northeastern tip of Texas, about to move upwards and take affect in Arkansas.

5:00 pm A tropical storm warning remains in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas but these warnings will be discontinued later this afternoon. Tropical storm conditions are being felt anywhere from Houston/Galvston east to Beaumont and Lake Charles and north to Tyler, Texas. Wireless access is still available at DeRidder, South Beauregard, and East Beauregard branches. Dial-up can also be accessed. There are numerous wind reports, surge reports, and damage reports coming in to weather.com. WEATHER.COM

3:00 pm RAINBANDS FROM IKE CONTINUE TO STREAM NORTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 TO 50 MPH. BRIEF HEAVY RAINS WITH RATES UP TO AN INCH PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE IN THE STRONGEST RAINBANDS. IN ADDITION...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITHIN THESE BANDS.

1:30pm Wireless seems to be back up around the East Beauregard Branch. Fields, Merryville and Singer Branches are not offering wireless signals. Parishwide dialups are operating. 9:00am At this time, the National Weather Service has reported that we will still see some strong gusts until the Noon timeframe and should begin to decrease in the afternoon. We are starting to focus on any rescue needs and damage assessments. We do have widespread power outages throughout the parish. Please report any issues that you may have or need assistance with. Wireless is available at DeRidder and South Beauregard. All other wireless services are down. Dial ups are also working

7am Update From Library Staff: According to KPLC and other reliable sources, the eye of Hurricane Ike is just now beginning to deteriorate. High winds will continue to come and go for much of the day. Tornado activity is still likely. We are advised to stay off the roads and continue to remain in shelter for most of Saturday. We are continuing to monitor conditions and will update this page with more information as it comes available.

911 services in the areas affected by the storm are urging that we only call 911 for help in an emergency situation. Please do not call to ask about the storm or to get information on highway or other conditions. In some situations, calls regarding life threatening emergencies have been delayed because 911 lines are being used for questions.

6:30 amIKE IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH...24 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY...WITH A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AND AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED EXPECTED TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IKE WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN AND EASTERN TEXAS TODAY...AND INTO WESTERN ARKANSAS TONIGHT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED TO NEAR 100 MPH... 160 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IKE IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. ADDITIONAL WEAKENING IS EXPECTED AS THE CENTER MOVES FARTHER INLAND...ALTHOUGH IKE IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A HURRICANE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.

Sept 12, 2008
10:00pm The 10pm update has just been released. No changes at this time.
Track Hurricane Ike live at: WEATHER.COM

7:00 pm Update from Ken Harlow According to National Weather Service, winds levels are expected to increase as the storm makes landfall. Landfall is still expected to occur sometime late tonight to earlier Saturday.

Informational Links
Official source for hurricane advisories: National Hurricane Center - Enter your zip code for specific information.
For the latest information, contact information, etc. from Louisiana State Government go to: http://emergency.louisiana.gov

5:30 pm Update on Hurricane Ike BEAUREGARD PARISH: TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS AROUND 60 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 80 MPH WILL PREVAIL TONIGHT. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AROUND 75 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 90 MPH ARE POSSIBLE LATER THIS EVENING ACROSS SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE PARISH...BEFORE DECREASING TO TROPICAL STORM FORCE BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL PERSIST ON SATURDAY. ...PROBABILITY OF HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS...

Update from the Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP
The 10am update shows no real change to the track. We should see sustained winds of 40mph-50mph with gusts 60mph-65mph according to National Weather Service. A dusk to dawn curfew has been issued beginning tonight.

11:45 am Announced Closures in DeRidder. Some businesses and agencies will close in order to encourage their employees and the people they serve to stay off the roads and seek safety during the high winds anticipated today and tomorrow. The following information has been provided by the agency or business. 10:30 am - Notes From The Library Fields branch is closed today, Sept 12. Singer branch will close at noon. Other closures will be announced as necessary.

6 AM Update from National Hurricane Center
BEAUREGARD PARISH IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND JASPER... NEWTON...AND TYLER COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS: TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH WILL BEGIN BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS...AND CONTINUE INCREASING THROUGH THE EVENING. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS AROUND 60 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 80 MPH ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND PERSIST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THESE COUNTIES AND PARISHES. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AROUND 70 TO 80 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 90 MPH ARE EXPECTED BY THIS EVENING ACROSS SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THESE COUNTIES AND PARISHES. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL PERSIST ON SATURDAY.

Sept 11, 2008
Update from the Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP
As of the 4pm forecast, the storm track has shifted closer to Galveston. With this shift, winds are expected to arrive a little earlier than noon. Please remember the track could shift again overnight.

Update from the Library The Fields Branch will not open on Friday, Sept 12 due to anticipated winds from Hurricane Ike. At this time it looks like the other branches will open on regular schedule. Depending on the path and speed of the storm, branches may close early on Friday.

Calcasieu Parish has announced a parish wide curfew beginning at 10 AM Friday, Sept 12.

Update from 2PM BPOEM Meeting If Ike contines on the current path and speed they anticipate wind speeds greater than 39 MPH are possible beginning in the SouthWest corner of Beauregard Parish. By 2AM on Saturday, wind speeds may increase to greater than 59 MPH over the SouthWest half of the Parish and moving across the entire Parish. Saturday night around 10PM the worst of the winds should be moving out of the Parish.

At this time, Beauregard Parish is under a voluntary evacuation of the low lying areas and mobile homes. People who need to evacuate and do not have transportation need to call 460-5516 immediately. If necessary leave a voice mail and you will be called back with instructions. Once winds begin to increase the evacuation busses must stop. If you do not call now there is a good chance that no busses will be available.

State Police and Emergency Response personnel are watching the traffic flow and will begin contraflow if traffic patterns make it necessary. It could begin as early as this evening.

Due to the anticpated track and extent of the storm, no shelters will be available in Vernon or Beauregard. All evacuees need to go north at least as far as Alexandria in order to find a shelter. No word yet on whether Pickering High will be open to provide directions and shelter assignments.

12:30 Update from Library Staff KPLC OEP briefing lists Beauregard Parish Schools as being closed on Friday. Information from the Beauregard Parish Schools is available on their website at: http://www.beau.k12.la.us

8:30am Update from Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP : As of the 7am report Ike is still on track to make landfall near Galveston. Please remember that Hurricanes can change direction at any time. Please monitor the storm for any changes. On the current track, Beauregard parish could see winds from the storm sometime on Friday. Intensity of winds will depend on location of the storm and strength.

Morning Update from Library Staff For the latest storm advisories see National Hurricane Center - to bypass the graphics try the NOAA text only version

Latest info from Louisiana Government offices is available at emergency.louisiana.gov. This includes recovery information regarding Unemployment and Food Stamps.

Great hurricane graphic maps : Stormpulse

Sept 10, 2008
5:30 pm update from Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP: The storm has shifted to the north up the Texas coast. Please monitor the storm overnight. There is a 2pm meeting scheduled on Thursday at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Training.

10:30 am Update from Ken Harlow, BPOHSEP: As of 10am Wednesday Morning, Hurricane Ike has entered into the Gulf of Mexico and still projected to make landfall around Corpus Christi, Texas sometime late Friday to early Saturday. Please continue to monitor this storm closely.
Sept 9, 2008
Evening Update According to today's OEM meeting Hurricane Ike does not appear to be an immediate threat to our area. Residents are urged to keep an eye on weather conditions. At this point no OEM meetings are scheduled.

10 am Update from Ken Harlow, Directory BPOHSEP:
Hurricane IKE as of 10am is still located over Western Cuba as a Cat. 1 with 80 mph winds. The new forecast for IKE is to make landfall around South Texas. We still need to monitor this storm for any changes. The 2pm meeting today will highlight any changes.
Sept 8, 2008
Regarding emergency preparedness procedures for Hurricane Ike we have the following word from Ken Harlow, Directory BPOHSEP:
There will be a information meeting concerning Hurricane IKE Tuesday, September 9, at 2pm at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Training Center.

Regarding cleanup from Hurricane Gustav all Library Branches are open on regular session.

Sept 6, 2008
All branches of the Beauregard Parish Library except the Singer Branch are now open on regular schedule. Singer will be reopened as soon as a storm related electrical problem has been corrected.

Some area water systems remain on the State's list of unsafe water. For this list and other storm related information go to http://emergency.louisiana.gov/
Sept 2, 2008
Update 3:15 pm The DeRidder Branch of the Beauregard Parish Library will reopen on Wednesday, Sept 3rd at 9:00 am. Rural Branches will reopen as quickly as possible. Call the Library or watch here for additional information on reopening.

Wireless Internet access should be available in the areas close to all Beauregard Parish Library Branches except Singer. There is a tree on the power line at Singer.

For information on reopening of the Beauregard Parish Schools, check this website: http://www.beau.k12.la.us/

Morning Update
Library Services Free wireless Internet access in the areas close to the following Library branches remains available to the public : DeRidder (downtown), Merryville (downtown), Singer and South Beauregard (near the Ragley overpass). For those who have telephone service and a library account, dialup lines are still working.

Wireless access around the East Beauregard and Fields Branches is down. Our best guess at this time is that power is down to those branches. We will restore service as quickly as conditions allow.

All branches of the Beauregard Parish Library remain closed through Wednesday, Sept 3rd. Watch this web site or call the Library before coming to see which branches have been able to reopen.

No fines will be charged during the evacuation and reentry periods. If you have Library materials checked out, they will be renewed to give time for you to return from evacuation and for branches to reopen.

As around 2 million Louisiana residents wait to return home, workers are checking see that it is safe and to arrange for an orderly return. Curfews and travel restrictions in parishes with evacuation orders are still in effect. Crews are working to restore power to more than 1 million homes which are without power and to clear debris and other unsafe conditions. The State of Louisiana will use this site to announce progress on reentry:
http://www.emergency.louisiana.gov/

The Department of Social Services has announced that the USDA Food and Nutrition Service has issued a waiver allowing the early issuance of September benefits to all households who receive food stamps. These benefits will be loaded onto Electronic Benefit Cards (EBT) by Monday, September 1st, 2008. The purpose is to enable Food Stamp recipients to purchase food during the evacuation and recovery periods.

Sept 1, 2008
Update 12:00 pm Looks like Gustav had nicer manners than we anticipated. We had some high winds and Gustav appears to have taken lots of our electricity out but otherwise we seem to be in good shape. The following services are "up" at this time: Wireless access in East Beauregard and in Fields is not responding. Best guess would be that those locations are currently without power. All library services will be restored as quickly as possible.

Update 9:00 pm National Weather Service has advised that the storm heading more of a northern direction around Beaurgard Parish. The winds that are being felt at this time will most likely be felt most of the night but should not increase. Isolated thunderstorms could still be produced from this storm but would only be isolated.
- From Ken Harlow at Beauregard Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness

Update 7:00 pm Beauregard Number for storm related information is 1-800-367-0275. Mayor Ron Roberts askes that DeRidder City residents report storm related problems to 462-8900.
No stores are open in DeRidder at this time. - Mayor Roberts

Due in part to the band of wind and showers traveling ahead of Gustav, Beauregard is experiencing an increase in power outages.

Update 6:00 pm OEP Update via KPLC. Residents of Allen, Beauregard and Jeff Davis parishes are urged to stay where they are through the night. High winds are expected late tonight. Even after the winds die down, travel is extremely dangerous from downed power lines and debris. When people drive under these conditions it increases the possiblity of a situation which would place emergency response personnel in danger. All areas will be strictly enforcing curfews and strongly urge that we stay off the roads tonight.

To locate a patient who has been moved from one hospital to another, go to http://www.lapatienttrack.com

Cameron parish is reported to have total power failure. Entergy reports around 3,000 outages in Calcasieu.

Update 4:00 pm From Ken Harlow, Beauregard OHSEP. National Weather Service in Lake Charles advises that we will possibly see 50-60 MPG winds sometime around 10 pm.

Update 2:30 Channel 7 Stormteam report is that DeRidder will begin experiencing the worst weather we will see around 6pm.

If you stayed in the area please ... Update 12:00 noon : Our Library crew reports that Wal-Mart just got gas again and the lines were not too bad.

Update 11 am : Some advance rains are reported in Beauregard Parish. Winds and wind gusts are expected to pick up later today. A good guess right now seems to be for sustained winds between 50 and 70 mph with higher gusts.
Flooding (possibly severe) is expected in low lying areas over the next few days.

Vernon Parish Evacuation - NOT MANDATORY The following is an unoffical announcement but I've received multiple emails from military families so I'm pretty confident that it is true. I've copied this from one of the emails:
Everyone in Vernon Parish was called this morning and told they were under a MANDANTORY evacuation order. WE ARE NOT UNDER A MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER! We ARE under a VOLUNTARY evacuation order though! This was an error by the company that was calling the residents. They were supposed to call all Vermillion parish (they are located on the central LA coastline where the hurricane is going to hit) residents and inform them that it was a mandatory evacuation order. So this was a human error.
My husband is a police officer and this information came from the Leesville Police Department. I'm putting this out because EVERYONE is calling all the police departments and flooding the call centers therefore if somebody DOES have a real emergency they can't get through! SO PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS. CALL 211 for emergency information instead!

Update 10 am :The wireless at the Merryville branch is back up. Wireless is available in the parking lots and other areas very close to all branches of the Beauregard Parish Library. We are currently permitting users who do not have accounts with the Beauregard Parish Library to connect to the wireless access points. During storm conditions, we keep the wireless access points available as much as possible so that evacuees and residents whose normal internet access is unavailable due to the storm can connect.

Update 8:15 am : All library dialup lines are operating.
Wireless is active around all branches except Merryville. Library personnel are checking on the Merryville situation.
Weather at CNN reminds us that Gustav has not made landfall. A hurricane can continue to strengthen even after reaching "Swampfall"

Update 6am National Hurricane Center Advisory as of 6 am today shows Gustav as a Catagory 3 expected to make landfall later today.

Aug 31, 2008
Update Sunday 12 pm Beauregard Parish is still under voluntary evacuation and watching carefully to see what Gustav has planned.

Update 6:00 pm This is not an official update but it might be useful info to have now and after the storm. According to a local list serve owner, Wal-Mart in DERidder is closing at 6pm today. Leesville Wal-Mart will close at 9pm and was telling customers that they would remain closed at least through Tuesday.

Update 3:30 pm As of the latest reports, Gustav is somewhat weaker and is aiming a bit to the east of us. Don't relax your guard. As the long timers tell us, we'll know where the storm is going when it gets there - or gets here as the case may be. Potential is still there for damaging winds. Serious flooding over the next few days is very likely.

Evacuation remains voluntary and strongly recommended for Beauregard Parish. Anyone who has not evacuated should have supplies for at least 72 hours. Our emergency response team reports that the supplies which they have requested from FEMA, the State of Louisiana and the Red Cross have not yet materialized.

Remember those wonderful workers who labored so hard to get our power back on last time? Generators which are not setup correctly can put them in serious danger as they work on the lines. We have more generators in the area this time around so please be sure yours is set up correctly. Look for that instruction manual while you still have lights! A BECI worker in today's OEM meeting said that the meter must be pulled if the generator does not have a properly installed disconnect switch.

Traffic is moving normally. Contraflow has been shut down. Gas is still being delivered.

DeRidder City Hall plans to open at 7am and remain open through out the day. They hope to have sandbags sometime during the day.

Local water systems report that most of the wells are connected to a generator. South Beauregard has 2 wells which do not have generators. There is a report that the generators for those wells are in transit. This site has info on preparing safe drinking water after a disaster: Food and Water In An Emergency

One shelter in Beauregard Parish was opened for people who could not get out of the parish on this morning's busses. We are too far South to be a safe shelter parish for people out of this area. Please continue to direct evacuees to the Pickering High School just off 171 North near Leesville. That location is set up to provide information and assistance to all evacuees.

Night time curfew for the City of DeRidder begins at 10pm tonight. This is not intended to keep residents from moving to shelter or taking care of their property.

Update 11:15 am Fort Polk Emergency Information

News from Calcasieu Parish Calcasieu has issued a parish wide curfew between 8pm and 6pm from tonight (Aug 31st) until further notice. Persons who move thorugh Calcasieu between those hours must provide valid ID and an explanation for why they are in the area. This is not a lockdown. Residents with ID will still able to access their homes and belongings. Evacuees will still be able to stop for gas and other supplies. Employees of businesses serving evacuees will be permitted to go to and from work. Traffic is heavy but moving smoothly through the parish. At this point contraflow is not necessary. It is critical that anyone with special needs call the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office for assistance now.
-- Sheriff Tony Mancuso.

Evacuations by Parish List maintained by State of Louisiana. Note: This is supposed to be official but it lists Allen as recommended. Other local sources (including KPLC' Evacuation List have stated that Allen went Manditory at 6am today (Sunday, Aug 31st).

Warning regarding low lying areasRainfall related to Gustav had the potential to cause serious flood conditions in low lying >reas.
Aug 30, 2008
From Ken Harlow, BPOSHEP The latest update from the NWS has advised that the landfall time for Hurricane Gustav has been moved up by approximately 12 hours. Instead of landfall late Monday, or early Tuesday, landfall is expected mid-day Monday.

As of noon on Saturday, Aug 30th, Beauregard Parish is under a voluntary evacuation order. All residents are strongly encouraged to leave the parish for the duration of the storm. People who stay in the parish need to have supplies to last at least 72 hours. Curfews and other limitations on the movements of people remaining in the parish may be issued.

Added at 11:00pm emergency.louisiana.gov offers extensive information for Louisiana residents. This includes phone numbers for assistance, information on animal evacuations, closures, agency links, information for volunteers, etc.

Added at 6:45 pm All branches of the Beauregard Parish Library will be closed until after Wednesday, September 3rd. The wireless, dialups and web site will remain available as long as conditions permit and will be brought up as soon after the storm as possible. If you have materials checked out from the Library, they will be automatically renewed to give time for you to get back from evacuation and return them. While the bookdrop at DeRidder will remain open, the library asks that you do not take any risks in order to return items. Simply bring them back after the storm and the evacuation period are over.

Added at 2:00 pm Evacuation busses will leave from all Beauregard Parish High Schools at 10:00am on Sunday, August 31. It is very important to be at the school and ready to go by 10:00am. Busses must pull out on time.

Contraflow traffic in Beauregard Parish is expected to start at 6:00 am Sunday, August 31, and continue for 12 to 15 hours.

Beauregard Parish Schools are closed Monday through Wednesday. There will be no activities at the schools. For more information on the schools, see the BPSB Website

Added at Noon Data from an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft indicate that Gustav has continued to strengthen and now has maximum winds near 145 mph...230 km/hr with higher gusts. This makes Gustav an extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. A special advisory will be issued at about 200 PM EDT to modify the initial and forecast intensities. The special public advisory will take the place of the intermediate public advisory previously scheduled for that time.

Beauregard Parish is not a sheltering parish. People coming through on evacuation should go to the Pickering High School just off 171 North near Leesville. That location is set up to provide information and instructions for evacuees.

Aug 28, 2008
Resources and Information:
Hurricane Information
Evacuation Guides
Aug 27, 2008
From Ken Harlow, Director Beauregard OHSEP

There will be a information meeting at 2pm on Thursday, 8-27 at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Training Center. This meeting will cover issues related to Gustav. The storm is projected to make landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi line at this time. The storm can and may shift directions at any time. Please continue to monitor the storm and hope to see you there.

Aug 4, 2008 As of 10am this morning Tropical Storm Edouard has weakened from 50 mph to 45 mph winds. The storm is still projected to become stronger and make landfall sometime on Tuesday morning near Galveston, Texas. At this time, the storm is expected not to become a hurricane, but remain a strong tropical storm. We can expect to see some rainfall from this storm possibly heavy at times. There is a chance for tropical storm winds in our area which depends on the strength and direction of the storm. Please remember if this storm changes direction and strength, it may have a greater impact on the area. I will update if any new information is received.

Update at 4:05 pm This is no change in the landfall forcast of Tropical Storm Edouard. At the 1600hrs advisory, sustained winds were 45 mph. Cameron parish is ordering a mandatory evacuation of all residents south of the intracoastal waterway. Cameron OEP Director advised that evacuation was going well and all citizens were being directed to a shelter that has been established in Calcasieu Parish. All roads leading into Cameron Parish will be closed at 1700 hrs today. Please monitor this storm for any changes. If I receive any new information will forward it immediately.

Ken Harlow
Beauregard OHSEP

Mar 31, 2008 The 2008 Beauregard Parish Hurricane Conference scheduled for May 9, 2008 has been canceled due to scheduling problems. No new date has been set as of this E-Mail.
Thanks, Glen Mears Sr. (LEM)
Mar 25, 2008

Please check back for an updated meeting schedule.

Mar 7, 2008 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
700 AM CST FRI MAR 7 2008

LAZ027>033-041>045-051>055-TXZ180>182-201-215-216-072100- VERNON-RAPIDES-AVOYELLES-BEAUREGARD-ALLEN-EVANGELINE-ST. LANDRY- CALCASIEU-JEFFERSON DAVIS-ACADIA-LAFAYETTE-UPPER ST. MARTIN- CAMERON-VERMILION-IBERIA-ST. MARY-LOWER ST. MARTIN-TYLER-JASPER- NEWTON-HARDIN-JEFFERSON-ORANGE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LEESVILLE...ALEXANDRIA...MARKSVILLE... DERIDDER...OAKDALE...VILLE PLATTE...OPELOUSAS...LAKE CHARLES... JENNINGS...CROWLEY...LAFAYETTE...ST. MARTINVILLE...CAMERON... ABBEVILLE...NEW IBERIA...MORGAN CITY...WOODVILLE...JASPER... NEWTON...LUMBERTON...BEAUMONT/PORT ARTHUR...ORANGE 700 AM CST FRI MAR 7 2008

...LIGHT SNOW POSSIBLE NORTH OF I-10 TODAY...

A STRONG COLD FRONT THAT MOVED ACROSS THE AREA LAST NIGHT IS USHERING A MUCH COLDER AIRMASS INTO THE REGION. TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S THIS MORNING WILL SLOWLY FALL INTO THE 30S BY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CREATE A POTENTIAL FOR SOME LIGHT SNOW TO OCCUR ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND LOUISIANA.

AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION EARLY TODAY. BY LATER THIS MORNING...THE LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE MAY BEGIN MIXING WITH LIGHT SNOW AS FAR SOUTH AS THE I-10 CORRIDOR.

AREAS MOST LIKELY TO SEE ANY LIGHT SNOW WILL BE ACROSS INTERIOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA...GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A KOUNTZE TO MARKSVILLE LINE. IN THESE AREAS...LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE MAY BEGIN MIXING WITH LIGHT SNOW LATER THIS MORNING...BEFORE POTENTIALLY CHANGING OVER TO ALL LIGHT SNOW BY THIS AFTERNOON.

SHOULD SNOW OCCUR...LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ANTICIPATED. SOME LIGHT DUSTINGS OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE ON ELEVATED SURFACES AND GRASSY AREAS IN INTERIOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA.

TRAVEL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE IMPACTED AS GROUND TEMPERATURES REMAIN TOO WARM FOR ANY SNOW TO ACCUMULATE ON AREA ROADWAYS.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER SITUATION.

Feb 26, 2008 Please note: The meetings which were listed in this area are being rescheduled. Please check back for additional information.

Questions or comments please forward to Deputy Mears by e-mail bpoep@beau.org.


Beauregard Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
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