NEW ORLEANS – Tropical storms and hurricanes are no joke.
The safety and wellbeing of everyone in the storm’s path should always be paramount. But contrary to popular belief outside of the regions that experience these weather events most, not every storm leads to a mandatory evacuation. The New Orleans Saints are looking to hunker down as Tropical Storm Francine barrels toward the Louisiana coast.
Reports believe that the storm is expected to intensify into a Category 2 Hurricane and then weaken before breaching land in Louisiana Wednesday afternoon. Despite the strengthening storm, the Saints, like many Louisiana locals, do not appear provoked to leave.
4 am – Track is back east some. Storm isn’t strengthening fast right now thanks to dry air last night, but could begin intensifying today. Landfall Wednesday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/362GEE43Yx
— Payton Malone WWL-TV (@paytonmalonewx) September 10, 2024
Per Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com, the Saints have no intent on evacuating as of Tuesday morning. While the team could depart early ahead of its game in Dallas this weekend, they may simply look to move up Wednesday’s practice to avoid the initial impact of the storm coinciding with their day. Thereby allowing coaches, players and staff to be home with their loved ones in time.
Typically New Orleans would hold the bulk of its on-field Wednesday practice and media availability in the early afternoon. Tropical Storm Francine is expected to make landfall sometime after 1:00 p.m. CT. Moving practice to an earlier slot could help to get members of the organization back home safely in time to brace for the weather.
Currently models predict the storm will have a greater impact west of New Orleans than in the city itself. But storm bands should still affect the area. And the unpredictability of the situation is always a sizable risk factor.
The Saints may pivot plans based on what updated models show over the next day, but much like the city of New Orleans, the team has a lot of experience handling this responsibly. Head coach Dennis Allen shared that members of the organization would meet Monday afternoon to discuss options, and in the meantime shared his confidence.
“I think we’re going to meet again this afternoon,” Allen said. “And see what kind of plans we need to make, and then we’ll kind of go from there. But I think we probably do this better than anyone else in the National Football League. So we’ll figure it out.”
