The threat of Tropical Storm Arlene had emergency officials throughout the New Orleans area on alert Friday, but businesses and residents were more blasé with each report that the storm was headed farther east.

"We're hoping that this is just a drill, not only for us, but for the residents, who should take this opportunity to review their own hurricane plans," said Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Director Walter Maestri. "The projections are that this going to be a very active season."

Kenny Campo of Campo's Marina at Shell Beach said his dock was already covered with water from a 3-foot tide at 5 p.m. Friday. But he said he was not concerned.

"We had worse wind on Monday, when it blew 75 to 80 miles per hour" during a severe thunderstorm, Campo said.

Len Buckland, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service's Slidell office, agreed, although on Friday the New Orleans area was placed under a tropical storm warning -- meaning winds of 39 mph or more were expected within 24 hours.

The New Orleans area will see a 50 percent chance of scattered showers from the outer bands of Arlene, Buckland said.

Despite the warning, Buckland said winds shouldn't increase to much more than 25 mph. Tides will continue to be 2 to 3 feet above normal, he said.

Following Ivan

Arlene may be a Category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the same area that Hurricane Ivan devastated in the fall. And that worries officials with the U.S. Geological Survey, not just because of any immediate damage, but because the area is so vulnerable right now. They worry the surge waters could exacerbate the damage done by Ivan, a Category 3 storm.

That storm reduced dunes from 8 or 9 feet to 3 feet, said U.S. Geological Survey researcher Asbury Sallenger. That could leave inland areas at greater risk from even relatively weak storms this season, he said.

The early projections that put Arlene closer to New Orleans forced many local governments to take precautions Friday.

In New Orleans, the Orleans Levee District had closed 32 floodgates by Friday night.

In Kenner, city employees stockpiled 30,000 sandbags and code enforcement inspectors ensured that material at construction sites was properly stowed.

St. Tammany braces

In St. Tammany Parish, closer to the storm's expected landfall, President Kevin Davis urged residents living below U.S. 190 to take precautions against high tides.

Tides in Lake Pontchartrain are expected to be 2 to 4 feet above normal, he said, and "we may experience some coastal flooding."

Anticipating heavy rains, parish crews pumped out all retention ponds so they can hold more rainwater, Davis said. Major drainage arteries were cleared of obstructions, he said.

In Slidell, Mayor Ben Morris also worried about flooded homes and impassable streets, primarily in the tidally influenced Palm Lake area of southwest Slidell.

"It all depends on where this sucker goes," he said.

Slidell opened its five sandbag locations from 5 to 9 p.m., but they won't reopen today unless Arlene changes course.

Foodgates closed

In St. Bernard Parish, Bob Turner, executive manager of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, closed the flood-control structures at Bayou Bienvenue and Bayou Dupre on the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet on Friday afternoon.

Depending on Arlene's path and whether the tide falls, Turner said, he may not be able to reopen the gates for the duration of the storm. Boaters can call the levee district at (504) 682-5941 to find out whether the gates are open.