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Farmers are preparing for Hurricane Laura by getting their crops out of the fields and moving livestock away from coastal areas.
A previous storm that hit the Cameron Parish coast almost 15 years ago is being used as a reference with expectations Laura will bring a devastating storm surge.
“It’s looking like Hurricane Rita,” said Andrew Granger, LSU AgCenter agent in Vermilion Parish.
Granger said rice farmers are working into the night to get their crop harvested, noting the storm could ruin half of the parish’s second rice crop.
Cattle are being moved as far as north Louisiana, and it’s expected the storm will cause considerable damage with saltwater flooding. “Their fences will be gone,” Granger said.
Bradley Pousson, AgCenter agent in Cameron Parish, said a tidal surge possibly higher than 10 feet is expected along the Cameron Parish coast.
Cattle owners learned about moving their herds early after hurricanes Rita in 2005 and Ike in 2008. “We prayed we’d never have to do this again, but here we are,” Pousson said.
Jimmy Meaux, AgCenter agent in Calcasieu Parish, said Monday that cattle producers started moving herds this past weekend. “They got a lot moved yesterday but a lot more today. It just takes them a while to get them out of the marsh,” he said.
AgCenter regional beef cattle specialist Vince Deshotel has been helping cattle producers find safe pastures for their herds. “They’re just looking for short-term replacement pastures for the storm,” he said.
Farmers are receiving hay donations. “There’s plenty of hay out there this year,” Deshotel said.
The start of sugarcane harvest is just a few weeks away, and farmers are in the middle of planting cane for next year’s crop. Blair Hebert, AgCenter agent for sugarcane in the Bayou Teche region, said farmers have been able to finish about a third of the planting.
But the cane awaiting harvest will be affected by wind. If the plants are blown over, or lodged, the stalks will tend to grow upright if the cane isn’t knocked flat, but broken cane stalks will not recover.
“Sugarcane is a very resilient crop, and we’re certainly going to test it,” Hebert said.
This year was shaping up to produce a good sugarcane crop, possibly one of the best. “It sure had that potential to be up there,” he said.
A big problem for farmers after Rita was the amount of debris pushed into the fields by the tidal surge, complicating harvest.
Farmer Jeffrey Sylvester, of Whiteville, said he is caught up with rice harvest, but he has about 1,600 acres yet to mature. He was scrambling Monday to make drainage improvements on his soybean fields. “I have 700 acres of beautiful beans,” he said.
Farmer Richard Fontenot, of Vidrine, said he has gotten help and has been loaned equipment to finish the last of his rice crop. “We’ve been hitting it hard the last four days,” he said.
Fontenot said he attended a Farm Bureau meeting via Zoom on his phone while operating his combine. He expected to finish harvest Monday night.
AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell said rice grain that’s still in the field could be knocked off the plants, and stalks could be blown down. Mature rice will sprout and become worthless if it is flooded. “Basically, you could lose the whole crop,” he said.
The soybean crop looks good this year. “Overall, the growing season for rice and soybeans has been very good,” Harrell said.
“It would be a big disaster for a storm to come in this late and ruin this crop,” Harrell added. “You can do everything right all year long and have this taken away in an instant.”

BATON ROUGE — With Hurricane Laura expected to make landfall on the coast of Louisiana, many residents in the state may find themselves without electricity. The safety of refrigerated and frozen foods is always a concern following extended power outages.
LSU AgCenter food safety expert Wennie Xu recommends planning ahead to have plenty of ice on hand before the anticipated outage.
You can purchase or make ice and store it in the freezer for use in the refrigerator or in a cooler. You also can freeze gel packs for use in coolers.
“Plan ahead, and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased,” Xu said.
She suggests freezing refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk, and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately.
“This helps keep them at a safe temperature longer,” she said, adding that grouping foods together also helps the food stay cold longer.
Limiting trips to the refrigerator and freezer while the electricity is out can extend the safety of the food inside, Xu said. You can do this by having coolers for regularly used foods to limit opening the refrigerator if the power will be out for more than four hours.
It’s a good idea to have an appliance thermometer in the freezer to monitor the temperature or have a tip-sensitive meat thermometer on hand to check the temperature of the food.
“If an appliance thermometer was kept in the freezer, check the temperature when the power comes back on,” she said. “If the freezer thermometer reads 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen.”
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can check each package of food to determine if it is safe.
“You can’t rely on appearance or odor. If the food still contains ice crystals or is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, it is safe to refreeze or cook,” Xu said.
Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than four hours and the refrigerator door was kept shut. Xu recommends discarding any perishable food, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs or leftovers that have been at temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or more, or one hour if room temperatures are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Perishable foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed — even when they are thoroughly cooked.
A manual can opener is a good tool to have so you can eat shelf-stable canned foods while without electricity.
Xu recommends having a bottle of bleach to disinfect waterproof food containers, including undamaged, commercially prepared foods in all-metal cans and retort pouches, such as flexible, shelf-stable juice or seafood pouches, if they came in contact with any floodwater.
And be prepared with bottled water for every member in the household. Have at least two quarts — and preferably a gallon — of water for each person per day.
“Also, do not forget to pack masks and other PPE if you have to evacuate since we are still in the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
HURRICANE LAURA
Hurricane Laura Intermediate Advisory Number 23A
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132020
100 PM CDT Tue Aug 25 2020
...LAURA MOVING WEST-NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF
MEXICO...
...EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE BY WEDNESDAY
NIGHT...
SUMMARY OF 100 PM CDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...24.3N 87.6W
ABOUT 525 MI...845 KM SE OF LAKE CHARLES LOUISIANA
ABOUT 560 MI...900 KM SE OF GALVESTON TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 295 DEGREES AT 16 MPH...26 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...990 MB...29.24 INCHES
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
None.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...
* San Luis Pass Texas to the Mouth of the Mississippi River
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* San Luis Pass Texas to Intracoastal City Louisiana
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* Sargent Texas to San Luis Pass
* East of Intracoastal City Louisiana to the Mouth of the
Mississippi River
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...
* Freeport Texas to San Luis Pass
* Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs Mississippi
* Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Lake Borgne
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* East of Intracoastal City to west of Morgan City Louisiana
A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening
inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline,
during the next 36 hours in the indicated locations. For a
depiction of areas at risk, please see the National Weather
Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic, available at
hurricanes.gov. This is a life-threatening situation. Persons
located within these areas should take all necessary actions to
protect life and property from rising water and the potential for
other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other
instructions from local officials.
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
somewhere within the warning area. A warning is typically issued
36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of
tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside
preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life
and property should be rushed to completion.
A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-
threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the
coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours.
A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible
within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours
before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force
winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or
dangerous.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning area.
For storm information specific to your area in the United
States, including possible inland watches and warnings, please
monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service
forecast office. For storm information specific to your area
outside of the United States, please monitor products issued by
your national meteorological service.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
----------------------
At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Hurricane Laura was located
near latitude 24.3 North, longitude 87.6 West. Laura is moving
toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this general
motion should continue today. A turn toward the northwest is
forecast by Wednesday, and a northwestward to north-northwestward
motion should continue through Wednesday night. On the forecast
track, the center of Laura will move across the southeastern Gulf of
Mexico today. Laura is then forecast to move over the central and
northwestern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Wednesday, approach the
Upper Texas and Southwest Louisiana coasts on Wednesday night and
move inland near those area on Thursday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher
gusts. Significant strengthening is forecast during the next 36
hours, and Laura is expected to be a major hurricane at landfall.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from
the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175
miles (280 km).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 990 mb (29.24 inches).
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
Key messages for Laura can be found in the Tropical Cyclone
Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT3 and WMO header WTNT43 KNHC.
STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the
tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by
rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could
reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated
areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...
Sea Rim State Park TX to Intracoastal City LA including Sabine Lake
and Calcasieu Lake...9-13 ft
Intracoastal City to Morgan City including Vermilion Bay...7-11 ft
Port Bolivar TX to Sea Rim State Park...6-9 ft
Morgan City LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River...4-6 ft
San Luis Pass TX to Port Bolivar...3-5 ft
Galveston Bay...3-5 ft
Freeport TX to San Luis Pass...2-4 ft
Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs MS including Lake
Borgne...3-5 ft
Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas...2-4 ft
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to
the right of the landfall location, where the surge will be
accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related
flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal
cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information
specific to your area, please see products issued by your local
National Weather Service forecast office.
RAINFALL: Laura is expected to produce the following storm total
rainfall accumulations:
Western Cuba...Additional totals of 1 inch or less.
United States...From Wednesday night into Saturday, Laura is
expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum
amounts of 12 inches across portions of the west-central U.S. Gulf
Coast from western Louisiana into east Texas, and northward into
portions of the lower to middle Mississippi Valley, lower Ohio
Valley, and Tennessee Valley. This rainfall will cause widespread
flash and urban flooding, small streams to overflow their banks, and
minor to isolated moderate river flooding.
WIND: Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning
area Wednesday night and Thursday. Tropical Storm conditions are
expected to reach the coast in the hurricane warning area late
Wednesday or Wednesday night, and are expected in the tropical
storm warning area Wednesday night and Thursday.
SURF: Swells generated by Laura are affecting portions of Cuba, the
central Bahamas, and the Florida Keys. Swells are expected to spread
northward along portions of the west coast of Florida peninsula and
the coast of the Florida panhandle later today and tonight, and
reach the northern and northwest Gulf coast by Wednesday. These
swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current
conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

Rose Marie Weekly, a devoted and loving mother, grandmother, great and great great grandmother, passed away peacefully Saturday August 22, 2020 at her residence with her family at her side. She was 77.
Rose was born in New Orleans to the late Frank Weekly and the late Francis Bouffanie Weekly, and was one of six children to this union. She was the epitome of the word mother, and spent her days caring for her family. She found relaxation sitting on her porch watching the animals in the field and the beauty of mother-nature. Above all, it was her family that brought her the most joy. Her memory will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. Rest well for you have earned your heavenly reward.
Survivors include her eight children, Samantha Baudoin (Jimmy), Francine LeBlanc (Troy), Mary Broussard (Tony), Jonathan Gautreaux (Danielle), Wiltz Gautreaux (Adrianna), Eddie Gautreaux (Anny), Michael Gautreaux, Phillip Gautreaux; a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren; and her brothers, James Weekly and Richard Weekly.
Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by twin great granddaughters, Angel and Hope Dyson; a great grandson, Shane Paul Broussard; and her sisters and brother, Margaret Segura, Jane Mulheron and Alvin Weekly.
A private service celebrating Rose’s life was held Monday, August 24, 2020 and she was laid to rest at Our Lady of Lourdes Mausoleum in Erath.
Those serving as pallbearers were her sons, Jonathan, Wiltz, Eddie, Michael and Phillip Gautreaux, and her sons-in-law, Jimmy Baudoin and Troy LeBlanc.
Because Rose received the gift of Life through organ donation, the family asks that those wishing please make a donation to Ochsner Multi Organ Transplant Institute 1514 Jefferson Hwy, Jefferson, LA 70121 or become a registered organ donor and give the gift of Life.
Evangeline Funeral Home of Delcambre was in charge of arrangements.