Louisiana Coast Towns Get Busy as Storm Danny Lurks Offshore

Tropical Storm Danny hovered ominously off the Louisiana coast Thursday, where forecasters said it could gather strength and become a hurricane before moving ashore.

Its 60-mph winds, still for the most part over the Gulf of Mexico, whipped up high tides at Grand Isle, about 60 miles south of New Orleans, forcing the evacuation of the area’s 1,500 residents.

Grand Isle Mayor Arthur Bellanger said 30 miles of Louisiana Highway One, the only route out of Grand Isle, were expected to be under water today when the storm moved ashore. Coastal areas to the west in Terrebonne Parish were also being evacuated, he said.

Marshall Wickman, a meteorologist, said Danny was likely to make landfall near Port Fourchon, La., just west of Grand Isle.

Forecasters predicted a storm surge of up to 5 feet, with resulting flooding in low-lying areas of southern Louisiana. They said Danny could become a minimal hurricane, with winds of 74 mph or more, as it fed off the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

A hurricane watch was in effect from Cameron, La., to Orange Beach, Ala. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was expected to drop up to 10 inches of rain in Louisiana and Mississippi.

New Orleans officials closed floodgates and lowered the water level in area canals in preparation for the expected heavy rains. Oil companies evacuated workers from offshore production platforms in the path of the storm.

On Thursday afternoon, the storm was about 50 miles off the coast and was expected to move northeastward at just 2 mph, the hurricane center said.