Heavy rains in Southwest Louisiana closed schools and elevated flooding risks in the region Wednesday morning ahead of another round of soaking downpours expected to hit tonight and Thursday morning.

“A couple more waves of thunderstorm clusters are going to be coming in at about 6 p.m. tonight, track across the region through the evening hours and then we’ll have a little bit of a lull in that activity for a while until another cluster comes into the area at about 4 a.m.,” said National Weather Service Lake Charles Storm Warning Coordinator Doug Cramer.

Parts of Lake Charles received up to six inches of rainfall before noon on Wednesday with eight inches reported in LeBleu and 6.5 inches reported from Iowa to Oakdale.

The excessive rainfall lead to school closures Wednesday in Calcasieu, Allen and Jeff Davis parishes and the shift to strictly online courses at McNeese State University.

Cramer said another 4-6 inches of rainfall is expected overnight in Southwest Louisiana with the area remaining at a marginal severe thunderstorm and excessive rainfall risk.

He said the excessive runoff from the rainfall could result in the flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury continues to have sand and bags available to residents free of charge at several locations — Iowa City Hall – 115 N Thompson Ave, Iowa (baseball field); Vinton Public Works Yard – 1111 Eddy St., Vinton; Former Old Tyme Variety Store location – 810 Ruth St., Sulphur; Public Works East – 5500-B Swift Plant Road, Lake Charles (go to back gates located on James Sudduth Parkway); Ward 1 Barn – 461 Parish Road, Moss Bluff; Ward 2 Barn – 7085 LA 14 East, Hayes; Ward 3 Old Barn – 2302 Smith Road, Lake Charles; Ward 5 Barn – 129 Third St., Starks; Ward 6 Barn – 1275 Plum St., DeQuincy; and Ward 8 Barn – 1726 Parish Barn Road, Iowa. Sand and bags are provided, but residents must bring their own shovels and fill their own bags. If lines are long, there will be a 15-bag limit.

Sand and bags will also be available 7 a.m.-4 p.m. at the city of Jennings Street Department, 106 East Jefferson St. Residents must bring their own shovel and fill their own bags.

Allen Parish has also opened sand-bagging stations at the town of Oberlin Barn (outside the gate), 207 West Fifth Street; Ward 2 Solid Waste Site (outside the gate); the corner of Kinder Cemetery and Old Pump roads; Ward 3 Parish Barn (outside the gate), 108 S. Lyles St. in Reeves;  Ward 4 Parish Barn (outside the gate), 110 Carol Hill Road in Elizabeth; and the Ward 5 Parish Barn (outside the gate), 518 La. 1152 in Oakdale. Residents must bring their own shovel to fill bags and are asked to limit the bags to only what they need.

Cramer said the area should start experiencing a dry pattern by Thursday afternoon.