Hurricane Laura gains strength as storm enters Gulf Coast
Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean has the latest.
Hurricane and Tropical Storm warnings are now in effect for large stretches of the Texas and Louisiana coastline as Laura – which reached Category 1 status Tuesday – is drawing near.
The hurricane, as of midday Tuesday, is 560 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas and is exhibiting maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as it moves northwest through the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters are projecting that Laura will intensify to a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, with winds of around 115 mph capable of inflicting devastating damage.
Louisiana residents take precautions ahead of Hurricane Laura
Hurricane Laura forms in Gulf of Mexico; Charles Watson reports.
STRENGTHENING HURRICANE LAURA PROMPTS MANDATORY EVACUATIONS ALONG GULF COAST
A National Hurricane Center advisory says "from Wednesday afternoon into Saturday, Laura is expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches across portions of the west-central U.S. Gulf Coast from western Louisiana into east Texas, and northward into portions of the lower to middle Mississippi Valley, lower Ohio Valley, and Tennessee Valley.
“This rainfall will cause widespread flash and urban flooding, small streams to overflow their banks, and minor to isolated moderate river flooding,” it added.
The Center’s forecasters also are warning that storm surge combined with high tides could bring up to 13 feet of water into communities along the coastline.
Vehicles line up to get gas at the Costco Gas station on Richmond Avenue in Houston on Monday. (Houston Chronicle/AP)
CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS GET HELP IN BATTLING SERIES OF MASSIVE BLAZES
Swells generated by the storm are expected “to spread northward along portions of the west coast of Florida peninsula and the coast of the Florida panhandle later today and tonight, and reach the northern and northwest Gulf coast by Wednesday,” the Center said in its latest advisory. “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
Laura killed at least 23 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it knocked out power and caused flooding in the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola. The deaths reportedly included a 10-year-old girl whose home was hit by a tree and a mother and young son who were crushed by a collapsing wall.
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While Laura continues to churn in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Marco has weakened to a Tropical Depression. By early Tuesday, Marco was a Remnant Low just south of Louisiana.
“Marco is expected to continue heavy rainfall across portions of the north-central Gulf Coast and Southeastern United States through Wednesday,” the National Weather Service said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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