A rare high risk of flooding is in parts of the South from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle even after Tropical Storm Arthur has fizzled, and the heavy rain threat will last in the South through at least Friday.

What happened to Arthur?

After first being called a tropical storm Wednesday morning, Arthur's center hugged the Texas coast before becoming stretched out and eventually dissipating.

Strong west winds aloft blew rain and thunderstorms so far from Arthur's center that it no longer met the requirements of a tropical storm.

Arthur did produce some 60 to 65 mph wind gusts on Galveston Island, a 51 mph gust at San Luis Pass, and some 40 mph gusts in the southern Houston metro area Wednesday.

Onshore winds did push water levels up to 2 feet above normal high tide in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, leading to some overwash on highway 82.

(MORE: Atlantic hurricane season outlook update)

High risk threat

While Arthur is gone, its remnant upper-level spin and a deep plume of moisture will wring out flooding rainfall over parts of the South.

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center issued a rare high risk in their excessive rainfall outlook through Friday morning from parts of eastern Louisiana into southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the extreme western Florida Panhandle.

This includes Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.

In these areas, "widespread and potentially life-threatening flash flooding is likely," according to NOAA's WPC.

These "high risk" days in NOAA's daily excessive rain outlooks are rare. They only are issued about 4% of the days each year. Yet one third of all flood deaths and 80% of all flood damage happens on these high risk days, according to NOAA.

The second highest level of excessive rainfall extends as far north and east as Birmingham and Atlanta, where at least local flash flooding is possible later Thursday.

(MORE: Why you should pay attention to 'high risk' flood forecasts)

Where the heavy rain is now

Areas of soaking rain are hitting areas from parts of Louisiana into Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, as the map below shows.

Early Thursday morning, power flashes from an apparent tornado were seen in the western and northern New Orleans metro area with a distinct radar hook echo. Damage to buildings, trees and power lines was reported in Metairie and a 66 mph gust was clocked at Lakefront Airport.

That tornado apparently continued over Lake Pontchartrain into areas near Slidell, Lousiana.

Flooding was reported in a home in St. Rose, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, and was reportedly widespread in the northern parts of the New Orleans metro, according to a storm chaser.

How much more rain will fall?

The heaviest additional rain should fall Thursday and Thursday night in the Deep South, but some areas of locally heavy rain could linger into Friday, possibly into the weekend.

Additional rainfall of 5 to 10 inches is possible from eastern Louisiana into southern Mississippi and southern Alabama. Some isolated higher totals are possible where areas of heavy rain are most persistent.

This could lead to dangerous flash flooding over the next few days and minor to moderate river flooding lingering into next week.

Stay alert for any flash flood warnings and never drive into a flooded stretch of road. Turn around, instead.

(MORE: Why you should never drive into a flooded road)

A tornado threat, too

Isolated tornadoes are also possible over the next couple of days along the Gulf Coast and Deep South, something common with inland remnants of tropical storms and hurricanes.

A pair of tornadoes were sighted in southeast Alabama Wednesday afternoon near Ewell and Enterprise.

Arthur comeback?

We earlier said Arthur fizzled Wednesday night as a tropical storm.

That's true.

But it's remnant energy and moisture could spin up again once it emerges off the East Coast later Friday or Saturday.

So, Arthur could have a second life in the western Atlantic as either a depression or storm, as the National Hurricane Center noted.

But don't worry about it along the East Coast. We expect this system to be pulled quickly east-northeast into the open North Atlantic this weekend ahead of a cold front. It will be no threat to land if it does develop.

Storm recap

Early Wednesday morning, just over 8.5 inches of rain fell in Freeport, about 50 miles south of downtown Houston, where at least one vehicle was flooded.

Two to three-inch rain totals were also reported on the south and east sides of the Houston metro from Baytown to Seabrook and League City.