Publication Date August 9, 2016 | NOLA

Flood watch for New Orleans area Wed. night through Fri. night

United States

A flood watch is in effect for much of the New Orleans area, including the North Shore, from Wednesday evening through Friday morning, with 5 to 8 inches of rain likely, forecasters with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

The advisory includes New Orleans and Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Tammanny, Terrebonne and upper Lafourche parishes in Louisiana and Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties in Mississippi.

Blame the expected heavy rains on surface and mid-level troughs of low pressure located along the Gulf Coast just east of the New Orleans area that also prompted the National Hurricane Center to mention it in a five-day tropical weather update, though it gives the lows a zero chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next five days.

But the lows are helping drag moisture from the Gulf over the coast to make the atmosphere about as soggy as it can get. Combine the moisture with elevated temperatures, and the result is a warning that severe thunderstorms also are expected during the remainder of Tuesday and into Tuesday night, according to a hazardous weather outlook message