Tropical Storm Francine will likely strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before it reaches the Louisiana coast on Wednesday.
A tropical storm moving through the Gulf of Mexico is expected to grow into a hurricane and threaten the southern United States, including the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Tropical Storm Francine is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, with warm ocean waters providing the fuel needed to strengthen the hurricane, which has sustained winds of up to 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour).
The storm is expected to remain just off the northeastern coast of Mexico on Tuesday before moving northeast toward the United States.
Coastal residents are being warned of life-threatening storm surges of up to 10 feet (3 m) in some areas, as well as potential tornadoes and dangerous winds, forecasters said. Residents have been advised to evacuate some low-lying areas.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Francine was about 380 miles (610 km) southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and about 85 miles (136 km) west of New Orleans. Maximum sustained winds were 65 mph (105 km/h), just 9 mph (14.5 km/h) shy of hurricane strength.
Tropical Storm Update as of 7:00 a.m. CDT September 10 #Francine.
A coastal hurricane warning has been extended eastward to Grand Isle, Louisiana. A tropical storm warning is currently in effect for the Pearl River Estuary, including the greater New Orleans area.
Latest update: https://t.co/31xmuEYovB pic.twitter.com/JCoUgQ3U3o
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2024
The school is closed
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged residents to “be prepared, not panic” and heed evacuation warnings. Some schools and colleges in the state were closed Tuesday through Wednesday as a precaution.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s state capital, long lines began forming at gas stations as people filled up on gas and groceries.
The Louisiana coast is still recovering from the 2020 hurricanes Laura and Delta, followed by Hurricane Ida a year later. The state recently marked the 19th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 major storm that killed 1,392 people and caused an estimated $200 billion in damage.
U.S. oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico, including ExxonMobil and Shell, have evacuated workers and, in some cases, halted drilling operations in preparation for the storm.
warmer sea
Francine is the sixth named storm of 2024. It arrives as meteorologists are pondering the quiet months of August and early September, the peak of the annual hurricane season, which usually runs from June to November.
Experts predict that ocean currents will be more active than usual this year due to a combination of factors, including warmer-than-usual sea water.
The water temperature where Francine is located is about 31 degrees Celsius (87 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist in the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel Department of Ocean, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences.
“The average ocean heat content across the Gulf Coast was the highest ever recorded on that date,” McNoldy wrote on his blog.
Forecasters are also monitoring two other weather systems in the mid-Atlantic that have the potential to grow into larger storms.
