The storm is forecast to reach near hurricane strength as it turns to the northwest and approaches the Louisiana coast on Saturday.
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The main threat for Louisiana will be extremely heavy rain. Some areas west of New Orleans could receive 15-20 inches of rain. These are amounts almost as high as what Hurricane Florence brought to North Carolina last year, and could cause catastrophic flooding.
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There will also be a storm surge of 3-5 feet along the Louisiana coast and winds gusting to 70 or 80mph.
Barry may not quite reach hurricane strength-- winds of 74 miles per hour-- but it will still cause significant problems for the central Gulf Coast.
The storms will weaken and move into Arkansas by early next week.
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If Barry does become a hurricane, it will be the first time a hurricane has made landfall in the U.S. in July since 2014.
That storm, you may remember, was Arthur, which hit the Outer Banks as a Category 2 storm with 100 miles per hour winds on July 3, 2014.
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No impacts are expected in central North Carolina, although some remnant moisture from the storm could up our rain chances late next week.
The Assosciated Press contributed to this post.