ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical Storm Francine is forecast to grow into a hurricane Tuesday and shift toward a landfall on the north Gulf Coast in Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of the NHC’s 5 p.m. advisory, the center of Francine was located about 135 miles east of the mouth of the Rio Grande River and 360 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and moving northeast at 10 mph.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 140 miles.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Louisiana coast from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle.
A hurricane watch is in effect for Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain, including metropolitan New Orleans. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Texas and Louisiana coasts east of High Island to Cameron, east of Grand Isle, Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border, Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain, including metropolitan New Orleans.
A storm surge warning is in effect for Sabine Pass, Texas to the Mississippi/Alabama Border, Vermilion Bay, Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain. A storm surge watch is in effect for the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border and Mobile Bay.
The system is forecast to continue to increase its forward pace in a northeast motion toward the northern Gulf Coast through Wednesday.
“On the forecast track, Francine is anticipated to move across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico tonight, and then make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday or Wednesday night. After landfall, the center is expected to move northward into Mississippi on Wednesday night or Thursday,” forecasters said.
Francine is forecast to grow into a hurricane by Tuesday night but weaken quickly after landfall.
The forecast predicts it to grow into a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph sustained winds and 115 mph gusts before making landfall somewhere in a cone of uncertainty that runs along the central Louisiana coast potentially south of Baton Rouge.