UPDATED 6:57 A.M. THURSDAY: Flood-weary St. Mary prepares for potentially heavy rain

In a year when flooding is never far from St. Mary minds, local officials were preparing for potentially heavy rain from a system inching its way west along the Gulf Coast.
Rain began falling early Thursday. The gauge at Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport near Patterson reported 0.58 inch in the three hours leading up to 3:56 a.m. Thursday.
The heaviest rain in East St. Mary was expected Friday. The chance of rain here grows to 90% Friday and will be 80% Saturday.
On Thursday morning, the National Weather Service at Lake Charles posted a graphic that shows the most likely rainfall total in St. Mary will be 4-6 inches Thursday through Saturday. A “worst case” graphic shows a total of 6-8 inches here, with a 10% chance that more rain will fall.
While the heaviest rain appears headed to our west, the National Weather Service has also warned that isolated spots along the coast may get 10 inches or more. So the officials are dealing with uncertainty, too.
An area stretching from east of Morgan City to Jennings is under a flood watch until 7 p.m. Saturday.
The National Hurricane Center downgraded the systems chance of tropical development to 30% Thursday.
To get ready, “we’re doing everything we can possibly do,” Parish President Sam Jones said Wednesday.
Sand for sandbags was put out at the parish public works barn in Bayou Vista, under the bridge in Amelia, under the U.S. 90 bridge near Berwick Town Hall and at Doiron Memorial Park in Stephensville.
The threat of heavy rain also focuses attention on Consolidated Gravity District No. 2A pump stations. Those stations, designed to move water outside the levee systems, proved to be inadequate during Hurricane Francine, when heavy rain pushed water into more than 300 Morgan City homes.
A $14 million state-funded project to upgrade four pump stations is underway but may not be completed until next year, Jones said.
At Pump Station No. 4, which serves the Marquis Manor and Cypress Gardens area, three and possibly four pumps will be available, more than during Francine. That area saw some of the worst flooding from the hurricane on Sept. 11.
But design work is still underway for the upgrade at Pump Station No. 9 near Lake Palourde, another problem station during Francine.
Tim Matte, executive director of the St. Mary Levee District, quoted a Wednesday National Weather Service briefing that said winds of 14 mph but no storm surge are expected.
With no threat of storm surge, the district decided not to close gates created to block surge, hoping that the openings will allow water to flow out.
In April, the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City was expected to reach 7 feet, the moderate flood stage. That led to the closure of the Bayou Chene Flood Control structure and some of the gates in the Morgan City and Berwick flood walls, all of which have since reopened.
The river never quite reached the 7-foot stage, but it has been receding slowly. The Atchafalaya didn’t come down to 4 feet, the nominal “action stage,” until Wednesday
Even with the river receding, the Coast Guard said Wednesday that high-water restrictions remain in effect in Vehicle Traffic Service Berwick Bay area.
If St. Mary is becoming fixated on flooding, we’re not alone.
The Weather Channel reported that the National Weather Service has issued 3,000 flash flood warnings this year, the most through July 15 for any year since 1986.
Forty-seven flash flood emergencies have been reported so far this year.
The central Texas flooding on July 4 has been the most lethal, claiming at least 134 lives.