Hurricane Laura landed around Cameroon, Louisiana, on Thursday, August 27, around 1 hour CT as a Category 4 hurricane. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has maximum sustained winds up to 120 miles per hour, making Laura a major hurricane of category 3 is. Central pressure is 948 millibars and moves north at 15 miles per hour. Laura is located about 30 miles northwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Tropical warnings range from the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana to Little Rock, Arkansas. Hurricane Warnings range from High Island, Texas to Intracoastal City, Louisiana and as far north as Shreveport, Louisiana. Tropical storm warnings are in place from east of Intracoastal City, Louisiana to the Mouth of the Mississippi River. The tropical storm warnings extend north to Little Rock.
A storm surge warning is in force from High Island, Texas to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Total storm surges are expected to be as high as 15-20 ft from Bayou, LA to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana.
It is expected that the center will follow Laura to the north or just east of the Texas / Louisiana border. Destructive winds, tornadoes, 5 to 15 inches of rain, and catastrophic storm surges will have major effects on the areas bordering the coast. The storm will gradually weaken as it moves north toward Arkansas. However, Laura will remain a very dangerous system for quite some time as it moves inland. Flooding rains, damaging winds, and tornadoes will continue until Thursday.
