The remnants of Hurricane Gustav moved into the ArkLaTex late Monday night as a tropical storm. Heavy rains and high winds were expected into Wednesday.
In addition to a chance of flooding from the rain, the winds could cause property damage, topple trees and limbs and cause power outages. There also were concerns tornadoes could be spawned from the storm.
Forecasters -- who initially said the area could get 10 to 20 inches of rain over two days -- had scaled that forecast back to an estimated 12 inches of rain.
Gustav was slowly losing strength as it moved inland along Interstate 49, but wind gusts of 40 to 70 mph are expected late tonight and through Tuesday in parts of the ArkLaTex.
Shreveport was expected to start getting heavy rain after midnight.
Rain began falling in Natchitoches late this afternoon and increased in intensity through the night. Businesses like gas stations and restaurants closed early as the wind began to blow and heavy rain fell.
East Texas could have widespread flooding concerns if Gustav stalls over that area on Wednesday, forecasters said.
