Hurricane Laura, a large, dangerous storm, is presently a Category 3 hurricane, but the National Hurricane Center says that hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center and tropical-storm- force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km).
In the latest advisory, Laura was located about 280 miles south-southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and 290 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas. Laura is moving to the northwest at 15 mph (24 kph) and has maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph). The minimum central pressure is now down to 963 mb (28.44 inches).
Top winds of 130 mph (209 kmh) are now predicted before landfall, pushing water onto more than 450 miles (724 kilometers) of coast from Texas to Mississippi.
#HurricaneLaura evacuees from Galveston are being turned away at the Circuit of the Americas because they are out of hotel vouchers August 26, 2020
The NHC call the storm “formidable,” saying It has undergone a remarkable intensification, “and there are no signs it will stop soon. Some areas, when they wake up Thursday morning, they’re not going to believe what happened,” said Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist, per the Assdociated Press
On the forecast track, Laura should approach the Upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts this evening and move inland near those areas tonight or Thursday morning,” the hurricane center said.
“We could see storm surge heights more than 15 feet in some areas,” Stewart said. “What doesn’t get blown down by the wind could easily get knocked down by the rising ocean waters pushing well inland.”
EVIL-looking satellite image with #HurricaneLaura this morning undergoing textbook rapid intensification into a Category 4 storm on approach to far southwest LA/Sabine Pass area tonight. We plan to intercept this in Dominator Fore and the HERV, racing drone. @RadarOmega_WX pic.twitter.com/biLg5bsizY
— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 26, 2020
Hurricane warnings were issued from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
Storm surge warnings from the Port Arthur, Texas, flood protection system to the mouth of the Mississippi River. A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline
Flash flood watches were issued for much of Arkansas, and forecasters said heavy rainfall could move to parts of Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky late Friday and Saturday.
Widespread flash flooding along small streams, urban areas, and roadways is expected this afternoon into Thursday from far eastern Texas, across Louisiana and Arkansas. For more information see @NWSWPC and your local @NWS office. pic.twitter.com/coapuqjVEW
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2020
With Laura becoming a Category 4 storm, the damage will be unimaginable. “Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months,” the weather service says.
“We need to be concerned about the federal capacity to respond to a major hurricane disaster, particularly in light of failings that are all too obvious in the public health area,” said Kathleen Tierney, former director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. “I really worry: Who’s minding the store?”
