Schools across southeast Louisiana were closed Tuesday as much of the state’s coastline prepares to be hit by Tropical Storm Francine, a fierce Atlantic storm that is continuing to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to become a category 2 hurricane before making landfall Wednesday.
Francine, which is expected to hit Louisiana directly on Wednesday night and bring extreme weather to much of the Texas coast, has sparked hurricane warnings in Louisiana and a storm surge warning from east of Houston to the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, Francine had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph with higher gusts and is likely to become a hurricane, defined by maximum sustained winds of 74 mph, by the end of the day, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Even after reaching hurricane status, Francine is expected to strengthen further before hitting the coast Wednesday, bringing up to a foot of rain to Louisiana through Friday morning.
Flash flooding is likely in Louisiana and Mississippi, the Center said, with a storm surge as high as 10 feet expected in parts of Louisiana and as high as 5 feet in parts of Texas.
Tornadoes are also possible in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for low-lying coastal orders in Louisiana; Exxon Mobil evacuated its staff from its Hoover offshore production site (more than 100 miles east of Corpus Christi, Texas); and Shell and Chevron said they would evacuate non-essential staff.
Schools in the area of Baton Rouge, including the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, were either closed entirely Tuesday or planning an early release as the area prepares for the storm.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Francine is the first named storm to form in weeks after a lull and is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tuesday is the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, according to the New York Times, and this year’s season (it runs from June 1 to Nov. 30) was predicted to be among the busiest ever with up to 25 named storms and more than a dozen hurricanes. Francine is the first named storm, however, since Ernesto on Aug. 12 and this season is the first since 1968 with no named storms forming between Aug. 13 and Sept. 8.
