MIAMI, Florida – NOAA’s National Hurricane Center issued a Public Advisory at 10 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Thursday, August 27, 2020, due to the presence of Hurricane Laura that made landfall on Louisiana and continues to produce damaging winds and flooding.
Hurricane Laura is located about 85 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana, and is moving to the north at 16 mph (26 km/h).
NHC forecasters say that this motion should continue throughout the day.
A northeastward to east-northeastward motion is expected tonight and Friday.
On the official NHC forecast track, Laura will move northward across northern Louisiana through this afternoon.
The center of Laura is forecast to move over Arkansas tonight, the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday, and the mid-Atlantic states on Saturday.
Spaghetti models are in strong agreement that Laura will move northward over Louisiana and into Arkansas, then curve towards Kentucky.
Laura is a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), with higher gusts.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center of the tropical cyclone and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km).
Rapid weakening is forecast. Laura is expected to become a tropical storm within the next few hours and weaken into a tropical depression tonight.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Sabine Pass, Texas to Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from High Island, Texas to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
TORNADOES: Tornadoes are possible through tonight over parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, and western Mississippi. The risk for tornadoes will shift into the Mid-South and Tennessee Valley regions on Friday into Friday night.
STORM SURGE: Water levels remain elevated along the Gulf Coast and will continue to subside over the next few hours.
WIND: Damaging wind gusts and tropical storm conditions are expected to spread into portions of northern Louisiana and Arkansas through this evening.
RAINFALL: Through Friday Laura is expected to produce additional rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, with isolated storm totals of 18 inches over Louisiana.
This rainfall will continue to cause widespread flash and urban flooding, small streams and creeks to overflow their banks, and minor to moderate freshwater river flooding.
Through Saturday, Laura is expected to produce 1 to 3 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 5 inches across the mid-Mississippi Valley, portions of the Tennessee and Lower Ohio Valleys, the central Appalachians, and the Mid-Atlantic States.
This rainfall may lead to flash and urban flooding and rapid rises on small streams.
SURF: Swells produced by Laura continue to affect the U.S. Gulf coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas and northeastern Mexico. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Copyright 2011-2023 Brevard Times. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us Privacy Policy