Hurricane Laura:NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center

 

..LAURA MOVING WEST-NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO...

...EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE BEFORE LANDFALL 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR THURSDAY MORNING...

*** A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...

* San Luis Pass Texas to the Mouth of the Mississippi River

*** A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...

* San Luis Pass Texas to Intracoastal City Louisiana

*** A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...

* Sargent Texas to San Luis Pass

* East of Intracoastal City Louisana.to the Mouth of the Mississippi River

*** A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...

* Freeport Texas to San Luis Pass

* Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs Mississippi

* Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Lake Borgne

*** A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...

* East of Intracoastal City to west of Morgan City Louisiana

Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning

area Wednesday night and Thursday.  Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast in the hurricane warning area late Wednesday or Wednesday night, and are expected in the tropical storm warning area Wednesday night and Thursday. Hurricane-force winds and damaging wind gusts are also expected to  spread well inland into portions of eastern Texas and western Louisiana early Thursday. 

A few tornadoes are expected Wednesday and Wednesday night over Louisiana, southeast Texas, and southwestern Mississippi.

At 4 p.m. CDT, the center of Hurricane Laura was located about 480 miles (770 km) southeast of Lake Charles, La. It's moving toward the west-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this general motion should continue tonight. A turn toward the northwest is forecast by Wednesday, and a northwestward to north-northwestward motion should continue through Wednesday night.  On the forecast track, the center of Laura will move across the central Gulf of Mexico tonight and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. The hurricane should approach the Upper Texas and Southwest Louisiana coasts on Wednesday night and move inland near those areas late Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph (130 km/h) with highergusts. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). Significant strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours, and Laura is expected to be a major hurricane at landfall. Rapid weakening is expected after Laura makes landfall.

The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

- Sea Rim State Park TX to Intracoastal City LA including- Sabine Lake and Calcasieu Lake...9-13 ft

- Intracoastal City to Morgan City incl. Vermilion Bay...7-11 ft

- Port Bolivar TX to Sea Rim State Park...6-9 ft

- Morgan City LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River...4-6 ft

- San Luis Pass TX to Port Bolivar...3-5 ft

- Galveston Bay...3-5 ft

- Freeport TX to San Luis Pass...2-4 ft

- Mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs MS including Lake Borgne...2-4 ft

- Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas...2-4 ft

From Wednesday afternoon through Friday, Laura is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches across portions of the northwestern Gulf Coast from western Louisiana to far eastern Texas, and northward into much of Arkansas. Over the Lower to Middle Mississippi Valley from central Louisiana into western Tennessee and Kentucky, and southeastern Missouri, 2 to 4 inches of rainfall with isolated totals of 6 inches are expected. This rainfall will cause widespread flash and urban flooding, small streams to overflow their banks, and minor to isolated moderate river flooding. By late Friday into Saturday, portions of the Tennessee and Ohio Valley could see 2 to 4 inches with locally higher amounts as tropical moisture from Laura moves through the region.