Francine strengthens - Hurricane threatens La. Coast

Francine, on the cusp of becoming a hurricane, will make landfall somewhere along the eastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana coast on Wednesday afternoon as Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane.

Francine main impacts will be:

Storm surge & coastal flooding

Destructive storm surge up to 10 feet along the southwestern Louisiana coastline is likely near and just to the east of the hurricane’s landfall Wednesday. Battering waves will accompany the rising water. Homes and businesses along the coast will be inundated with water.

The WindRadar is showing onshore winds ahead of the hurricane’s landfall. This will produce a storm surge along the length of the Texas and Louisiana coastline with the high surges occurring north of Galveston to east of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

High Winds

The highest winds will spread across southwestern Louisiana on Wednesday as Francine approaches and moves ashore. Wind gusts approaching 100 mph will produce widespread power outages, topple trees, and damage roofs and awnings.

Flooding

The WeatherRadar shows heavy rain that will accompany Francine as it moves inland on Wednesday into early Thursday. Five to 10 inches of rain will cause flash flooding throughout southern Louisiana, including New Orleans. The tropical deluge will move inland into Mississippi and Alabama on Thursday, producing inland floods too.

The rain squalls will be accompanied by a tornado risk, especially in the northeastern quadrant as Francine comes ashore.

Weather & Radar meteorologists will be tracking Francine and our weather reporter Jonathan Petramala is on the scene to show the latest.