Hurricane Francine made landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana at 5 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, September 11, as a Category 2 storm, with a path that would make its way up the center of the state of Mississippi.
Francine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since 2021, and the third to make landfall in the U.S. this year.
Fortunately, by the time Francine made its way up Newton County in the early morning hours of Thursday, the storm had downgraded to a tropical depression.
With the expectation of high winds, possible tornadoes, and flash flooding, Newton County was spared of any considerate damages, other than thousands left without power Thursday morning and some roads blocked by downed trees.
According to local weather reports, Newton County rainfall amounts averaged between 1 and 2 inches throughout the county, with wind gusts reaching 48 mph at times.
According to Newton County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Ryan Hanner, there were reports early Thursday of downed trees, some over roadways, and a tree limb was reported to have damaged a mobile home roof in Hickory.
“Most of our impact happened early Thursday morning between 5 and 7 a.m., but nothing really major. We didn’t get any reports of any flooded roadways,” said Hanner. “We were blessed to not get any of the severe weather threats that we were supposed to get. In terms of trees in roadways, we didn’t even have as many as we would normally have during a summer evening shower.”
In the event of another storm or any other type of emergency situation, Hanner and the Newton County Emergency Management Agency reminds the Newton County community to follow their Facebook Page by typing NewtonCOEMA into the search.
Hanner added that a great app to download onto devices would be the MEMA App.
“It sends out severe weather alerts, as well as It allows residents to self-report storm damage,” said Hanner. “It’s good for the county, as a whole, to have this app available when there is an imminent threat of severe weather.”
To download the app, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play.
