Talk about dodging a bullet....
Isidore, a Category 3 hurricane when it hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula a few days earlier, had top sustained winds of 65 mph late Wednesday night as it moved northward toward the southeast Louisiana coast, with landfall expected before dawn near the island city of Grand Isle, about 60 miles south of New Orleans.
Isidore was bringing sporadic but heavy rains. New Orleans, which is below sea level, already had 10 to 12 inches, and accumulations of 10 to 20 inches were possible over the Southeast during the next two to three days, forecasters said....
In Morgan City on the Atchafalaya River, Mayor Tim Tregle said city workers had closed some of the massive floodgates that keep waters out of downtown and they expected to close more later in the day.
The levee and floodwall system that protects the city negated the need for an evacuation in the face of Isidore, Tregle said as he prepared to tour the town.
While most areas seemed to be coping well with the periodic downpours from Isidore's wide outer bands, many evening commuters in New Orleans got a nasty surprise.
Rains were so intense for a while in the afternoon -- falling 3 inches an hour -- the runoff overwhelmed the massive pumps designed to keep the city from flooding.
Some commuters were trapped on elevated portions of Interstate 10, and others bailed out of their cars as water flooded other thoroughfares and side streets.
Earlier in the day, most government offices closed and almost all airline flights into and out of New Orleans were canceled. Bus service also was stopped as water rose in the streets.
Although many Louisianans felt little fear of the relatively weak storm, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin was concerned the storm would dump even heavier rains on the city, which lies below sea level, and that high winds would cause severe problems with electrical power and traffic.
To keep streets free for emergency vehicles overnight, Nagin imposed a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. "We are urging and encouraging citizens to stay indoors, to hunker down and keep their vehicles and their relatives and friends off the streets," Nagin said, adding that the storm carried a threat of tornadoes as well as more rain.
National Guard troops were brought in to help with any needed rescues, and state officials were expected to close many bridges in South Louisiana if winds rose to 50 mph.
