Tropical Storm Francine churned toward Louisiana while building strength in the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.
The storm is expected to strike Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 hurricane, with winds between 96 and 110 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday, with tropical storm conditions arriving in the warning area by early Wednesday,” the center warned Tuesday.
A hurricane warning had been issued from Sabine Pass on the Texas border all the way east to Grand Isle, covering almost the entire southern coast of the state.
But the wind was not even the biggest concern for many residents. Francine could bring up to 12 inches of rain to parts of Louisiana and Mississippi through Friday morning, according to the hurricane center. Between 4-8 inches was predicted throughout the two states.
“It’s crucial that all of us take this storm very seriously and begin our preparations immediately,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the storm was located about 120 miles southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, southwest of its projected target area in Louisiana.
A storm surge warning stretched from Houston to the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. The range of the warning reflected the storm’s unpredictable path through the warm waters of the Gulf over the next 24 hours.
“We always talk about how anytime something gets into the Gulf, things can change quickly, and this is a perfect example of that,” said Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Louisiana governor’s office.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Though forecasters initially expected an overwhelming season with several damaging hurricanes, they downgraded that prediction earlier this month after multiple months with few storms.