Hurricane Francine bearing down on Louisiana; Landfall early Wednesday evening
Hurricane Francine will roll onshore in south-central Louisiana early Wednesday evening with significant risk to lives and property associated with storm surge, strong winds and flooding rainfall.
An area under AccuWeather meteorologists’ radar for weeks recently gave birth to Tropical Storm Francine, which is forecast to strike Louisiana as a hurricane early Wednesday evening.
“Francine had an opportunity to strengthen further during the day Wednesday, but wind shear continued to keep the hurricane in check at Category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,” AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said at mid-afternoon on Wednesday, “There still are a few hours left for the storm to strengthen a bit before making landfall.”
The latest on Francine
Francine became a hurricane on Tuesday evening with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. By Wednesday morning, Francine had gained further wind intensity, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph — just 6 mph shy of Category 2 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
On Wednesday afternoon the hurricane was moving northeast at 16 mph, and it is forecast to pick up additional forward speed. The eye of Francine was located less than 100 miles to the southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, and less than 160 miles to the southwest of New Orleans, but areas of heavy rain and gusty winds extended well to the north and east of the center.
A hurricane warning was in effect from the Texas/Louisiana state line to Grand Isle, Louisiana, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Louisiana coast from Grand Isle through Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm warning was also in effect for the southern Mississippi and Alabama coasts.
As Francine continues to move over warm, open waters offshore for several hours Wednesday, some additional increase in strength is likely.
At this time, Francine is a 2 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes, which gauges the risks to lives and property, damage to infrastructure, and economic loss due to wind damage and flooding from rainfall and storm surge. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale only accounts for the sustained winds of a hurricane.
Minimal impacts in Texas from Francine
“The forecast track of Francine will prevent big rain from falling over most of interior Texas as dry air continues to sweep southeastward on the storm’s western flank,” DaSilva said.
Some torrential downpours will occur in far northeastern Texas, with the likelihood of flooding rain near and north of where the tropical cyclone makes landfall along the central Gulf coast. Surf throughout much of the Gulf Coast beaches, even outside of Francine’s direct path, will be dangerous due to the potential for strong rip currents into Thursday.
Louisiana to bear brunt of Francine’s wind, rain and storm surge
The most dangerous aspect of a landfilling hurricane is the rapid rise of coastal waters that penetrate inland, known as storm surge.
Francine will pack a punch in terms of strong winds with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gust of 130 mph along the south-central Louisiana coast.
A broad zone of wind gusts frequenting 60-80 mph will occur over much of southern and eastern Louisiana and southern and central Mississippi. Winds of this intensity and even lower at sustained speeds are plenty strong enough to knock down trees and trigger regional to widespread power outages, including in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana, as well as Jackson and Biloxi, Mississippi.
Wind gusts of 100-120 mph are anticipated from Morgan City to near New Iberia and Houma, Louisiana.
Where tornadoes occur, damage can be more severe and pose a greater risk to lives and property.
The highest risk of inland tornadoes will be north and east of the storm center. Because some dry air has become entrained into Francine’s circulation, it may increase the number and intensity of severe thunderstorms, which could boost the number of tornadoes beginning Wednesday and possibly continuing into Friday.
The most far-reaching impacts from Francine will be heavy rainfall, which can trigger everything from small stream and low-lying area flooding to significant rises on some of the south-central United States region’s secondary rivers and bayous.
A broad area where 4-8 inches of rain will fall is likely, centered on the Mississippi Delta region, with 8-12 inches of rain and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ rainfall of 24 inches forecast in southern Louisiana.
The Views Expressed In This Article Belong Solely To The Original Author, And We Assume No Responsibility For Its Accuracy, Completeness, Or Any Consequences Arising From Its Use.
