Hurricane Nate in New Orleans: much ado about nothing

[fleur-de-lisa]

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2017/10/hurricane_nate_in_new_orleans.html#incart_2box_nola_river_orleans_news

Hurricane Nate in New Orleans, to the relief of officials and residents, turned out to be much ado about nothing.

The city braced overnight for what was expected to be a Category 2 storm with 100 mile-per-hour winds. Warnings swirled that power could be out for days. Streets could flood. Debris could be airborne. In the end, Nate shifted east and struck near Biloxi as a Category 1 storm, sending surging ocean water into Mississippi coastal towns.

snip . . .

New Orleans' fragile drainage system, with its downed pumps and its fickle power supply, was never put to a major test. Beyond a slight dip in water pressure around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, no power outages or pump malfunctions were reported.

(Mayor Mitch) Landrieu answered criticism Sunday that his decision to impose a curfew at 7 p.m. Saturday had hurt restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses across the city. The lockdown lasted little more than an hour and a half. Landrieu lifted it as the National Weather Service downgraded the expected impact of Nate on the city.

I received about 15 minutes of intense wind and sideways rain, and that was it. Light rain during a couple periods. My family in Gulfport/Biloxi didn't even lose power. After all the effort to secure lawn furniture, put potted plants in the garage, find candles/batteries, etc., I was hoping for at least some decent rain.