Arthur’s ghost is fueling monumental flooding and tornadoes in the Gulf Coast

By Meteorologists Chris Dolce, Briana Waxman, Mary Gilbert, and CNN’s Kate S. Petersen

(CNN) — Arthur is no longer a tropical system, but its leftover moisture and energy are still fueling a deadly flood threat and severe storms across the Gulf Coast and into the South during the weeklong weather event.

A rare Level 4 of 4 high risk of flooding rainfall was issued by the Weather Prediction Center for parts of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana on Thursday. Arthur’s “ghost”— its lingering, moisture-rich air — is responsible for this dangerous threat for areas that have already been soaked throughout the week.

It’s hard to overstate just how significant these high risk flooding events are. They are issued on fewer than 4% of days per year on average, but they are responsible for 80% of all flood-related damage and 36% of all flood-related deaths, WPC research shows.

A county road crew member was killed while working on storm cleanup in Franklin County, Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves said on social media.

Flooding already killed two people in Texas earlier this week before Arthur formed, and the continued high-stakes flooding risk is keeping local officials on high alert.

Flood watches for the system’s heavy rain have been issued for more than 17 million people along the northern Gulf Coast to as far east as parts of Georgia. Rainfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour are possible at times in some of these areas.

Flooding in Mississippi and Louisiana still a major threat

Dangerous flooding prompted at least three flash flood emergencies — the highest level of warning — in Louisiana and Mississippi mid-morning Wednesday. Plaucheville, Louisiana, saw about 2 feet of rain dumped on the city in just 12 hours during a flash flood emergency, the National Weather Service said.

Southern Mississippi’s Pearl River County was under a flash flood emergency for several hours Thursday as officials were concerned about Anchor Lake Dam failing, which could have unleashed a dangerous deluge. Officials ultimately decided they have “high confidence in the dam’s structural integrity,” and an evacuation order for about 30 homes downriver was lifted. Officials with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will remain at the dam to monitor conditions, the Pearl River County Office of Emergency Services said in a post on Facebook.

The area has seen more than 9 inches of rain Thursday. East Hobolochitto Creek near Ceasar, which is a few miles south of the dam and lake, has risen about 14 feet in the past two days as a result of all of the heavy rain.

Water rescues took place in Harrison County, and multiple roads are closed across five Mississippi counties, Reeves said. The state is working with local officials to help coordinate resources.

In Louisiana’s Avoyelles Parish, about 150 homes were flooded and a nursing home in DuPont is being evacuated, but no injuries have been reported, said Joey Frank, the parish’s Homeland Security director.

In addition to flooding, Arthur’s remnants have also produced multiple tornadoes in southeast Louisiana. An EF1 tornado struck Avondale, Louisiana — just south of New Orleans — early Thursday morning, destroying four homes and causing minor damage to around a dozen others, Jefferson Parish spokesperson Rachel Strassel told CNN.

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One mobile home was blown off its cinder blocks and struck a neighboring modular home, which resulted in two people being taken to the hospital, she said. The neighbor had a leg injury and the occupant of the mobile home was taken for assessment, according to Strassel.

Winds also shattered the windows of a third home in the area and reportedly blew its occupant out of bed, she said. Vehicles and trees were also damaged. On the east side of Jefferson Parish, the storms damaged office buildings and blew a stationary train off the tracks, Strassel said.

The city of Houma in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, was also hit by an EF1 tornado overnight Wednesday. There are reports of damaged homes as well as “significant street and residential flooding,” according to the Houma Fire Department.

A tornado also moved through St. Tammany Parish, northeast of New Orleans, Thursday morning. “Our area was hit this morning by strong storms. Crews are responding to flooded streets, stalled or overturned vehicles, and downed power lines,” the St. Tammany Fire Protection District 1 posted on social media. Responders conducted “multiple high water evacuations out of homes” in another part of the parish Wednesday, according to parish Fire Protection District No. 5.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a state of emergency Thursday evening to help respond to storm damage across the state.

The remnants of Arthur are expected to produce another 5 to 10 inches of rain through early Saturday from central and southern parts of Louisiana east through Mississippi and Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle and western Georgia.

Flooding kills two in Texas

Parts of eastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have picked up more than a month’s worth of rain in just three days, with some accomplishing this in several hours because of such heavy rainfall rates.

Some locations from southern and eastern Texas to southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi have seen over 6 inches of flooding rain so far. The highest official totals as of Thursday morning were 11.41 inches near Village Mills, Texas, and 11.31 inches near Picayune, Mississippi, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

In Bandera County, northwest of San Antonio, a woman was killed after her vehicle was swept into a flooded creek early Monday morning. Her vehicle was found “several miles downstream” and “completely submerged,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

On Tuesday evening, a 15-year-old boy was found dead in Magnolia in Montgomery County, part of the greater Houston metro area, after he entered a flooded retention pond while playing with a group of teenagers near a construction roadway, the sheriff’s office said in a statement to CNN.

Homes, buildings and roads flooded in areas across the region since Sunday, leaving many drivers stranded in floodwaters in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Fire crews rescued a family, including an infant, from a home with knee-deep water, Picayune Fire Department Chief Joshua Abercrombie told CNN, noting floodwater was waist-deep on the road outside the home. An estimated 8 to 9 inches of rain fell over six hours on Tuesday in the Mississippi city.

“This just dumped a tremendous amount of rain,” Abercrombie said. “We’re not used to flooding in the areas we got it in.”

Timing the flood threat

Here’s where the biggest flooding concerns are expected in the next few days:

• Thursday night: Heavy rain has mostly ended in Louisiana but is ongoing in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. This batch of storms will persist through the evening.

• Friday to Friday night: The cold front could cause at least isolated flash flooding in much of the South, but the most significant risk is in southern Alabama and nearby parts of southern Mississippi and the western Florida Panhandle.

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CNN’s Karina Tsui, Taylor Romine and Andrew Freedman contributed to this report.