Isidore Drenches Gulf Coast

HOUMA, La. -- Tropical Storm Isidore is drenching the Gulf Coast, sending tourists and residents fleeing inland.

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Parts of New Orleans are swamped with thigh-deep water, and forecasters are warning Isidore might be bringing as much as 20 inches of rain.

The storm is expected to come ashore in Louisiana early Thursday.

The storm dumped up to 6 inches of rain in the Alabama coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin, swirling up huge waves and closing schools. The storm's outer bands have been whipping Gulf beach areas in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana since Tuesday.

Some schools are closed, hospitals are being asked to postpone some surgeries and coastal residents are being urged to evacuate -- as Isidore churns toward Louisiana and Mississippi.

In one Louisiana parish, officials have opened up an emergency shelter and they expect about 2,000 people to show up.

A hurricane watch stretches some 300 miles from southwestern Louisiana into Mississippi, and a tropical storm warning remains in effect from east of High Island, Texas, to St. Marks, Fla.

At 10 p.m. CDT, the center of Tropical Storm Isidore was located near latitude 28.1 north, longitude 90.3 west or about 125 miles south of New Orleans.

Isidore is moving toward the north at about 13 mph. A general northward motion is expected during the next 24 hours. This track should bring the center of Isidore near or over the southeastern Louisiana coast before dawn Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts. Some slow strengthening is possible before landfall.

A ship located northeast of the center recently reported sustained winds of 64 mph with a gust to 82 mph.

Isidore is a large storm with the circulation covering much of the Gulf of Mexico, while tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 315 miles, mainly to the north of the center.

Bands of heavy rain are spreading onto the northern gulf coast. Storm total accumulations of 10 to 20 inches are possible over the southeastern U.S. during the next two to three days. Heavy rains will also spread northward into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys during the same time period. These rains could cause life-threatening floods.

Locally heavy rains over the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico should decrease tonight.

Bands of heavy rain will continue over portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and southeastern Mexico today, with an additional 5 inches of rain possible.

Coastal storm surge flooding of 3 to 6 feet above normal tide levels, with higher levels in bays, along with battering waves, can be expected within the tropical storm warning area.

Isolated tornadoes are possible from southeast Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle.

The watch area could feel winds of more than 70 mph. Mississippi's governor has declared a state of emergency for the entire state in anticipation of Isidore's impact.

People are stocking up on generators, plywood and batteries.