Hurricane Nate Makes Landfall At Mouth Of Mississippi

JACKSON, MS — Hurricane Nate has made landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River with winds of 85 miles per hour. The storm is at Category 1 strength, though it could still grow. It appears to have missed New Orleans for now but is expected to move north and east toward Mississippi. The Gulf Coast is expected to be hit hard withe the potential for flooding, heavy winds, power outages, and tornadoes. On Friday, Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for six counties and signed an order authorizing the deployment of the Mississippi National Guard.

"It is important for all Mississippians and visitors to our state to take this storm seriously," Bryant said in a statement. "Regardless of where the storm makes actual landfall, we face the possibility of widespread power outages and storm surge flooding.

"I ask everyone to please have a plan, especially those that live in mobile homes and low-lying areas."

With the storm shifting east, it's now expected that the central part of the state will see more heavy winds with some rain than had been originally forecast. (Sign up for newsletters and real-time news alerts from Jackson Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

At the same time, officials urge people to remember that the storm will still have the power towreak havoc, Even as a tropical storm, it left 21 dead in its wake as it moved by Central America.

With heavy rains expected to bring storm surges, which will bring flooding, Hancock County issued a mandatory evacuation order early Saturday morning while Jackson County recommended a voluntary evacuation.

Watch: Tropical Storm Nate Could Strike The US Gulf Coast As A Hurricane

"Life-threatening storm surge flooding is likely along portions of the northern Gulf Coast, and a storm surge warning has been issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Alabama/Florida border," the National Hurricane Center said.

State emergency officials say the surge could be up to 10 feet and urge people not to wait until it's too late to evacuate.

As a result, harbors in Biloxi, Long Beach, and Pass Christian, have all announced evacuations.

Long Beach is closing their harbor as of 6 p.m., Saturday.

Meanwhile, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood sent investigators from his office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to investigate nursing and licensed care homes in the southeastern part of the state to make sure they have an evacuation plan as well as sufficient water, fuel, and generators. During Hurricane Irma last month, nine Florida nursing home residents died in the stifling heat after the area lost power.

Investigators went to nursing homes in Pike, Walthall, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry, Greene, Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties.

They also reached out to counties to the north – Adams, Amite, Wilkinson, Franklin, Lincoln, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Jones, Wayne, Claiborne, Copiah, Simpson, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, and Greene counties – to make sure they are prepared.

"We must care for our seniors, especially during a disaster," said Hood. "Our staff follows the same protocol with every storm as outlined in our office’s Emergency Response Guide, and we will do all we can to be sure that our facilities here are prepared to continue giving quality care to residents in the event of a storm and follow state regulations."

He added that investigators from the Consumer Protection Division of the attorney general's office checked the prices of emergency supplies such as water and generators in the regions expected to be hit hardest, as well as gas prices across the state on Friday to make sure there was no price gouging.

In Harrison County on the southern coast, officials are opening open five emergency shelters. Jackson, Forrest and George counties are also opening shelters.

Bryant said that he's been in contact with FEMA Director Brock Long, who assured him they are ready to provide assistance. Bryant also posted a picture of officials in the state's emergency operations center, which was opened at 7 a.m. on Friday.

The impending storm is bringing changes to events planned along the coast for this weekend including The Gulfport Music Festival, which was changed from a weekend event to a one day concert on Friday.

In a sign of how seriously some are taking the storm, The Sun Herald reports that The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore was seen getting off a plane in Gulfport on Friday.

The National Weather Service's Jackson Office says that a hurricane warning has been issued for the northern Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama.

They add that even before the storm arrives, it's expected to bring winds strong enough to bring down trees.

Image via National Hurricane Center