Francine winds down to 45 mph

4:00. I KNOW WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE LATEST UPDATE WHEN IT COMES TO TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THE REDUCTION IN THAT TROPICAL ACTIVITY. JIM SIMON, JOINING US NOW FROM THE WEATHER CENTER WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. WELL, THIS IS A SYSTEM THAT'S QUICKLY LOSING A LOT OF ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT THE DAY AFTER WHEN A TROPICAL STORM PASSES, THE FACT IS, IS THERE'S USUALLY SOME DRIER AIR AND SOME COOLER AIR MOVING IN ON THE BACK SIDE, AT LEAST MOST OF THE TIME. THAT'S GOING TO BE THE CASE WITH THIS SYSTEM. GRANTED, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A HUGE COOLDOWN, BUT OUR DEW POINTS ARE GOING TO COME DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT. SO THE PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER TODAY, IT'S GOING TO BE WARM. BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT OPPRESSIVE HEAT WITH HUMIDITY WAY HIGH. HERE'S THE LATEST ADVISORY. JUST CAME OVER FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER 4 A.M. YOU CAN SEE THAT BY LATER ON TODAY, THE WINDS ARE GOING TO BE DOWN TO 35MPH. CURRENTLY, THE WINDS AT 45. IT'S MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 12, GOING TO EVENTUALLY START TO TURN A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE NORTH. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS A SYSTEM LOSING A LOT OF ITS TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS. AND AS THE DAY GOES ON, OUR WEATHER IS JUST GOING TO GET BETTER AND BETTER IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, LET'S SHOW YOU SOME OF THE RAINFALL TOTALS THAT WE GOT BECAUSE OF FRANCINE. CLOSE TO NINE INCHES IN MANY LOCATIONS. METAIRIE WITH ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF. LOUIS ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WITH OVER SEVEN INCHES OF RAIN AND IN SOME COMMUNITIES, OBVIOUSLY WE GOT EVEN MORE THAN THAT. HIGHEST WIND GUSTS THAT WE REPORTED OVER 112MPH. THERE WAS AN OIL RIG JUST NORTH OF THE CHE CENTER. WE SAW WIND GUSTS YESTERDAY OVER 101. THAT WIND GUST THEN INCREASED WHEN I LEFT WORK AT ABOUT 230 I SAID 101. WOW, THAT'S A STRONG WIND GUST. NOPE. 112. THAT HAPPENED JUST SHORTLY THEREAFTER. OBVIOUSLY AT THE AIRPORT WE HAD 78 MILE PER HOUR WIND GUSTS AT THE LAKEFRONT, A 70 MILE PER HOUR WIND GUST. OBVIOUSLY OUR WEATHER GETTING MUCH BETTER RIGHT NOW. OUR TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE MID 70S, BUT THAT BREEZE IS GOING TO BE A FACTOR FOR YOU. THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE IS GOING TO LIKELY COME DOWN. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE IN THE 60S BY LATER ON TODAY. GRANTED, UPPER 60S, BUT STILL NOT OPPRESSIVE HUMIDITY. TAKE A LOOK AT THEHE CURRENT WIS 2020 FIVE MILES PER HOUR. THAT'S ABOUT IT. GENERALLY, WE'RE SEEING KIND OF A SOUTHERLY WIND AS THE SYSTEM IS TO THE NORTH. IT'S STILL BRINGING UP WARM, MOIST AIR, BUT THE WINDS ARE GOING TO SHIFT A LITTLE BIT BY LATER ON THIS MORNING. AND THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT WIND GUSTS MANAGEABLE ANYWHERE FROM 35 TO WELL, ACTUALLY 36 IS OUR MAXIMUM WIND GUSTS. CHECK THAT 39 RIGHT NOW IN GULFPORT. SO AGAIN IT'S BREEZY, OCCASIONALLY WINDY FOR A MOMENT OR TWO. BUT THOSE WINDS SHOULD BE SUBSIDING AS THE DAY GOES ON. TEAM COVERAGE CONTINUES. HERE'S METEOROLOGIST RAVEN RICHARD. YEAH, LET'S TAKE YOU BACK IN TIME, JUST IN CASECASE YOU MISSD IT. SO FIRST LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS THE ISLAND VIEW CASINO OFF THE COAST OF GULFPORT. SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE RIGHT HERE, YOU SEE THE WAVES KIND OF HITTING THE COAST. SO THEY ARE ACTIVELY GETTING SOME HEAVY RAIN AND SOME STRONG WINDS AS WE SPEAK. I MEAN WE'VE ALL BEEN SEEING THE STRONG WINDS. SO LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO IT PAST 24 HOURS. THIS IS WHAT THINGS HAVE LOOKED LIKE FOR US. WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN THINGS CHANGE. INDEED. SO WATCH THIS. OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS, WE'VE SEEN THE STORM JUST QUICKLY MOVE ON THROUGH. THIS IS WHEN WE HAD ALL THE HEAVY RAIN, THE STRONG WINDS OCCURRING AT THIS MOMENT. SO WE'LL KEEP WATCHING THAT AS IT GOES THROUGH. THAT'S WHEN ALL OUR WARNINGS AND WATCHES, ALL THAT POPPED UP. BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR RIGHT NOW? WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. IF YOU'RE DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION. SO LOOKING AT GRAND ISLE BOOTHVILLE, YOU'RE ALL GOOD TO GO. NO MORE RAIN RIGHT NOW. AT THIS HOUR, YOU'RE JUST DEALING WITH SOME WINDS. AND LOOK AT THIS BOGALUSA FINALLY STARTING TO SEE SOME CLEARING. SO MAYBE A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS BACK ON THE BACK END, BUT THINGS ARE PRETTY MUCH ENDING FOR YOU. WHEN I CAME IN THIS MORNING DEALING WITH A LITTLE BIT OF MIST IN THE NEW ORLEANS MET METO AREA, AND THEN ELSEWHERE, THOUGH, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE GULF COAST. SO THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE SEEING THOSE WINDS COME UP AT. YOU'RE LOOKING AT A FEW BANDS LEFT OVER, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THOUGH, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH DONE WITH THE MAIN EVENT AS OF RIGHT NOW THOUGH, RIVER PARISHES, MAYBE A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS HERE AND THERE. BUT THE MAIN THING YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE FLOODING, WE STILL GOT SOME FLOOD ISSUES OUT THERE TO SPEAK OF. EVERYBODY UNDER A FLOOD WATCH. WE GOT A COUPLE FLOOD ADVISORIES, ESPECIALLY RIGHT ALONG OUR WATERWAYS, LOOKING AROUND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, STILL GOING TO BE DEALING WITH SOME FLOODING, STORM SURGE, STILL AN ISSUE AS WELL. WE'RE STILL UNDER A TROPICAL STORM WARNING. SO WITH THIS LATEST UPDATE, THEY KEPT US UNDER THAT TROPICAL STORM WARNING. SO THIS IS STAYING. AND THEN ONCE THIS IS DONE, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO DROP OUR ALERT DAY. SO THINGS ARE PRETTY MUCH IN THE CLEAR. THIS IS A VERY COOL PRODUCT THAT WE DO HAVE. AND OUR WEATHER SYSTEM, IT SHOWS US THE POWER OUTAGES AND YOU CAN OBVIOUSLY TELL WHO'S GETTING THE MOST AND WHO SAW THE WORST OF THE WEATHER. THE STRONGEST OF THE WINDS LOOK NEAR HOUMA LOOKING AT 24,000. YOU GOT NUMBERS UP TO 50,000. AND THE NEW ORLEANS AREA. SO DEFINITELY A LOT OF OUTAGES FOR THIS MOR MORNING BECAUSE OFL THAT WIND THAT WE SAW. AND SPEAKING OF THE WIND GUSTS, LOOK WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW. STARTING TO BECOME CALM. YOU'RE SEEING PLACES LIKE HOUMA GALLIANO LOOKING AT 13MPH. BUT THEN YOU GET CLOSER. LOOK AT KENNER, STILL 25MPH FOR YOUR GUSTS. AND LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING OFF THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST. LOOKING AT ALMOST 40MPH FOR THOSE WIND GUSTS. SO AS SOON AS THIS WIND KIND OF CALMS DOWN, THAT'S WHEN WE CAN FINALLY GET THE FOLKS OUT TO KIND OF RESTORE POWER FOR US AS FAR AS WIND GOES FOR TODAY, IT WILL GET BETTER. GUSTS WILL GET A WHOLE LOT, OT,T BETTER. I WOULD SAY ONCE WE GET TO ABOUT NOON, THAT'S WHEN WE'LL GET BELOW 20MPH. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS OF THIS MORNING STILL GOING TO BE ON THE VERY BREEZY SIDE. YOUR TEMPERATURES THOUGH, HONESTLY, IT DOESN'T FEEL THAT BAD OUTSIDE. I MEAN, THAT IS MAYBE THE GOOD PART IN ALL OF THIS. WE'RE FEELING VERY GOOD. BUT HERE'S A LOOK AT THE REST OF YOUR WDSU. FIRST WARNING SEVEN DAY FORECAST. SO ONCE WE'RE DONE WITH ALL OF THIS, THE WINDY CONDITIONS, DEALING WITH A DECENT DAY FOR TODAY AND THEN FOR YOUR WEEKEND, NOT TOO BAD. WE WILL BUMP UP A LITTLE BIT IN YOUR TEMPERATURES, BUT AGAIN, MAIN RAIN IS DONE. AS OF NOW WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE DEALING WITH THE AFTER EFFECTS OF THE STRONG WINDS OF STORM SURGE OF ANY FLOODING THAT'S STILL DOWN. SO THAT'S THE MAIN THING. BUT MOST OF THAT