Tropical Storm Francine forms in Gulf of Mexico, expected to hit Louisiana as hurricane
Tropical Storm Francine developed in the Gulf of Mexico Monday and was expected to make landfall Wednesday as a hurricane along the coast of Louisiana, forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center also warned of potentially life-threatening storm surge for portions of the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines.
"Damaging and life-threatening hurricane-force winds are expected in southern Louisiana Wednesday, where a Hurricane Warning is now in effect," the hurricane center said on social media around 5 p.m. EDT on Monday.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency on Monday evening ahead of Francine's arrival. "This State of Emergency will allow parishes statewide to have the resources to help protect the life, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Louisiana," Landry said on social media. "Throughout this process, we will remain in constant contact with local officals and first responders and will assist them in every step of the way."
A hurricane warning was in effect Monday afternoon for the Louisiana coast from Sabine Pass to Morgan City. A tropical storm watch was in effect for parts of coastal Texas and Louisiana, as well as parts of Mexico. A storm surge watch covered the coastal area from High Island, Texas, east to the Mississippi-Alabama border, including Vermilion Bay, Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain.
A storm surge watch indicates the possibility of life-threatening inundation within 48 hours. Hurricane and tropical storm watches mean conditions typically associated with those weather events are possible within that same time period.
Francine was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches of rain in many areas and up to a foot in some places, forecasters said, and tropical-storm-force winds were extending outward up to 160 miles from its center.
Francine was moving slowly north-northwest Monday at around 7 miles per hour, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph while traveling up through the Gulf about 150 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and 435 miles south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana, the hurricane center said. Wind speeds would need to strengthen to at least 74 mph in order for Francine to be considered a Category 1 hurricane.
The tropical storm's development follows an unusually calm August and early September in the Atlantic hurricane season, which has had five named storms.
Experts had predicted one of the busiest Atlantic seasons ever and, The Associated Press notes, Colorado State University researchers said last week they still expect an above-normal season overall.
