Claudette Brings Heavy Rains Into Slidell, MS Gulf Coast

Claudette was officially named a tropical storm early Saturday morning after packing a punch late Friday night, causing some flooding in the Slidell area and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The National Weather Service said widespread eight to ten inches of rain fell across parts of the Northshore and Mississippi coast, with over ten inches in parts of Slidell. Points west saw far less rain, showing how disorganized and lopsided the system was as it approached landfall.

Conditions are expected to be much improved on Saturday, with rain chances returning on Sunday thanks to moisture being pulled out of the Gulf from Claudette moving across the southeast United States.

The future of Claudette may be longer than first thought. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say it's possible Claudette will hang on as a depression or post-tropical cyclone for a few days before reemerging over the Atlantic and becoming a tropical storm again early in the week.