Hurricane Francine is a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 90 mph. The storm is around 150 miles southwest of Morgan City and is expected to make landfall later today. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says there is an upside.
“No sort of strengthening is expected in the storm. It’s encountering a little bit of wind shear, and as a result, they don’t expect the storm to really build anymore approaches the coast.”
Landfall is expected near Morgan City, with heavy rain, wind gusts up to 90 mph, and storm surges of up to 10 feet. This will impact areas like Vermilion and Atchafalaya Bays, while Keim says cities like New Orleans are on high alert.
“Sustained winds will peak around 30 miles per hour with gust of up to about 60, and the worst of these winds are going to arrive around 9 P-M to midnight tonight.”
Several parishes, including Cameron and Iberia, have issued evacuation orders or curfews. The region is preparing for flash flooding, Keim says there could be up to a foot of rain in certain areas.
“This is going to put a bit of a smackdown across the region. There’s going to be widespread power outages, were going to have some flooding issues. So it’s definitely time to buckle up your chin strap and get ready for this one.”
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