A hurricane to Louisiana - Francine threatens the central Gulf states this week

It's been three weeks of quietness in the Atlantic Basin. It is now awake and Gulf Coast residents should be closely monitoring the approach of Francine which will bring several hazards this week.

The National Hurricane Center labeled the tropical system over the western Gulf of Mexico as Potential Tropical Cyclone 6. On the 10 a.m. CT bulletin, the NHC officially named it Francine. It will move slowly as it turns toward the U.S. Once it makes the turn, it will pick up a bit more forward speed. The current forecast calls for Francine to land in Louisiana late Wednesday night as a hurricane.

Francine will travel over a very warm patch of sea surface temperature waters. This will likely serve as prime fuel for the system to intensify into a hurricane, possibly between category one and two. At least that's the category where most models show this system now. Keep in mind that intensity models are often far less accurate than track models, and there is a chance that this system could be stronger. Hazards will vary depending on your location, see here for more.

Residents from the far eastern coast of Texas through Louisiana should be preparing for a hurricane and should continue to monitor this system closely. Please plan to finish preparations by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, at the latest, as the weather will deteriorate rapidly as the storm approaches.

These will be the impacts: