Hurricane Hunters find that Laura continues to strengthen and is now at 125 mph. Cat 4 begins at 130 mph. The warnings are quite dire and Laura is now expected to be a cat 4 hurricane at landfall. Please keep the folks in the path of this storm close to your hearts. Landfall is expected late tonight.
I expect Laura to bring us some rough weather by Friday. Heavy downpours of rain (1-3″), very gusty winds to 40+ mph, and an isolated tornado or two are all possible.
I’m tracking it all!
Here are those dire warnings being issued from the National Hurricane Center at this hour:
1. Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes. This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles inland from the immediate coastline. Only a few hours remain to protect life and property and all actions should be rushed to completion. 2. Hurricane-force winds are expected tonight in portions of the hurricane warning area from San Luis Pass, Texas, to west of Morgan City, Louisiana, with catastrophic wind damage expected where Laura's eyewall makes landfall. Hurricane-force winds and widespread damaging wind gusts will spread well inland across portions of eastern Texas and western Louisiana early Thursday.
