NATCHEZ — Hurricane Isaac is expected to weaken in strength after it made its second landfall in Louisiana, but the National Hurricane Center says the storm will not weaken as quickly as anticipated.

The slow weakening is because the storm will travel across swampy terrain in South Louisiana as it slowly moves further inland.

Isaac’s impact to the Miss-Lou was just beginning Wednesday morning as feeder bands from the storm began dropping rain across the area. Forecasters say rain will continue, sometimes heavy, throughout the day and likely will continue through the day Thursday. Rainfall totals are expected to be between 8 and 10 inches, but could be more depending upon the exact path the slow-moving Isaac takes.

In addition to the rain, the storm is expected to bring sustained winds of nearly 40 mph continuously for perhaps as much as 24 hours, with gusts approaching 50 mph.

The Category 1 hurricane made landfall at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in Plaquemines Parish, La., meandered into the Gulf of Mexico and stayed stationary a few hours. It slowly moved ashore again just west of Port Fourchon about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Its wind speed at 4 a.m. was 80 mph, the same speed that pushed Isaac ashore both

times with movement about 8 mph. It was located at 29.2N 90.5W, about 30 miles south-southeast of Houma, La., and about 60 miles south-southwest of New Orleans.

The Hurricane Center said Isaac’s slow movement poses a continued threat of flooding from pummelling rains over the northern Gulf Coast during the next 24 hours.

The storm is expected to dump as much as 20 inches of rain in some areas, with 6 to 12 feet on the Mississippi Coast. Some flooding has already been reported, and more is expected as the tide and the storm surge meet and push gulf waters into coastal cities.