NEW ORLEANS - Barry made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday afternoon along Louisiana's central coast, then immediately weakened back into a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
But it was the rainfall that always posed the greatest threat, regardless of whether the storm was a hurricane or a tropical storm.
And a tropical storm warning was discontinued for anyone east of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Storm surge warnings along the coast extended from Intracoastal City, south of Lafayette, to Biloxi, Mississippi, and along Lake Pontchartrain.
For the first time since their construction, all major floodgates on the Mississippi River are closed, he added.