FFANEW LAZ034>040-046>050-MSZ068>071-062000- BULLETIN...IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 421 AM CDT TUE AUG 6 2002 ...A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...NORTH OF LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN...AND SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI FOR TODAY... THE WATCH AREA EXTENDS FROM THE ATCHAFALAYA RIVER...SOUTHWEST OF THE BATON ROUGE AREA EASTWARD TO SLIDELL...AND NORTH INTO THE SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES FROM WILKINSON TO WALTHALL. A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...ESPECIALLY NEAR STREAMS...BAYOUS...AND AREAS OF POOR DRAINAGE. THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM BERTHA LOCATED NORTHWEST OF BATON ROUGE IS EXPECTED TO TRACK SLOWLY WEST AND SOUTHWEST DURING THE DAY. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED DURING THE LATE EVENING AND EARLY MORNING HOURS...PRIMARILY OVER ST. TAMMANY... WASHINGTON...TANGIPAHOA...AND ST. HELENA PARISHES. RAINFALL TOTAL OF 3 TO 5 INCHES...AND LOCALLY UP TO 6 INCHES LIKELY OCCURRED IN THIS AREA OVERNIGHT. SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING ROADWAYS AND POORLY DRAINED AREAS IN THESE PARISH. IN ADDITION...FLOODING OF SOME RIVERS IN THIS REGION MAY OCCUR LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. AS TROPICAL DEPRESSION BERTHA MOVES SLOWLY WEST...THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD WESTWARD AND MAY AFFECT THE GREATER BATON ROUGE AREA AND SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI TODAY. ADDITIONAL FOR THE WATCH AREA. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 5 INCHES MAY OCCUR TODAY. REFER TO THE LATEST RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR MORE INFORMATION. IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER LOCATIONS TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING...AND DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL FLASH FLOOD SITUATION. FOR MORE INFORMATION...VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/LIX (ALL LOWER CASE).