Floods from weakened Lee threaten Southeast

SAUCIER, Miss.?? The massive Lee storm system dumped more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain in New Orleans and spawned tornadoes elsewhere before it weakened to a tropical depression, but forecasters warned Monday that slow-moving rain clouds pose a flooding threat to inland areas.

One man died, swept away by floodwaters spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee in Mississippi, the first reported so far as a direct result of the steady rains dumped by Lee, authorities.

Lee's remnants were expected to continue to march to the northeast. Areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi near the coast reported scattered wind damage and flooding on Sunday, while New Orleans levees and pumping system were doing their jobs.

Video: Plenty of rain, tropical storm Lee moves to Northeast (on this page)

National Hurricane Center specialist Robbie Berg said Lee's flash flood threat could be more severe as the rain moves from the flatter Gulf region into the rugged Appalachians.

Closer to the Gulf, the water is "just going to sit there a couple of days," he said. "Up in the Appalachians you get more threat of flash floods."

The threat of tornadoes spawned by Lee's remnants was diminishing early Monday, said Fred Zeigler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But he said coastal flooding would remain a concern.

One other death was directly attributed to Lee, though a body boarder in Galveston, Texas, drowned after being pulled out to sea in heavy surf churned up by Lee. The Coast Guard was also searching Sunday for a teenage boy swept away by rough surf off Gulf Shores, Alabama. A man in Mississippi also suffered non-life-threatening injuries when authorities said he was struck by lightning that traveled through a phone line.

Jerry Sneed, deputy mayor of public safety for New Orleans, reported no significant problems on Monday morning, with standing water remaining in only a few areas outside the levee protection system. No deaths were reported from the storm.

"Overall, things worked well, I think we did OK," he said.

As of 5:30 a.m., utility company Entergy reported no remaining power outages in New Orleans. At one point, some 38,000 homes in the area had lost power.

New Orleans was devastated in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of the city, killed 1,500 people and caused more than $80 billion in damage. Half of the city is below sea level, protected by levees and flood gates.

This time, the city fared better than its neighbors and out-lying areas.

The continuing tidal surge brought by strong southerly winds flooded about 20 homes in Slidell's Palm Lake subdivision, east of New Orleans, overnight as drainage arteries into Lake Pontchartrain backed up, leaving up to four feet of standing water.

The nearby Oak Harbor subdivision stayed on flood watch on Monday morning as Lake Pontchartrain's waters remained about three feet above normal.

By morning, as the tropical depression moved to the east, winds in the local area shifted to the north, beginning to help move the water back out of some flooded areas. But the shift didn't come soon enough for some areas.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser complained bitterly of delays in improving levee protection as he joined crews continuing a losing battle against the water.

"Look at the people who suffered through four hurricanes and the oil spill," Nungesser said. "How much more can they take?"

The vast, soggy system spent hours during the weekend hovering in the northernmost Gulf of Mexico before its center finally crossed into Louisiana west of New Orleans, pelting a wide swath of coastline.

On Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center said Lee's center was about 55 miles (90 kilometers) west-northwest of McComb, Mississippi and moving east-northeast at 7 mph (11 kph).

Some of the damage on the Gulf Coast, where tropical storms are an almost yearly event, appeared to come from spinoff tornadoes that touched down in southern Mississippi and Alabama.

Video: New Orleans on high alert for rising waters (on this page)

Elsewhere, Hurricane Katia gained force as it moved across the Atlantic Ocean.

By late Monday morning, Katia's maximum sustained winds had increased to 110 mph (177 kph). That makes Katia a strong Category 2 storm, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says it's possible Katia will get even stronger as the day goes on.

Hurricane specialist Todd Kimberlain says it's looking less likely that Katia will hit land but that wind from the storm could still affect the U.S. East Coast as it moves north. Kimberlain also says the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions should still keep an eye on Katia.

Katia is centered about 540 miles (869 kilometers) south of Bermuda and is moving northwest near 13 mph (21 kph).

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44397295/ns/weather/

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