Hurricane Laura Slams Ashore as a Major Cat 4 Storm

HOUSTON, TX – At 700a.m. the center of Hurricane Laura was located near latitude 31.2 North, longitude 93.3 West in central Louisiana.

Laura is moving toward the north near 15 mph (24 km/h) and this motion should continue through the day.

A northeastward to east-northeastward motion is expected tonight and Friday. On the forecast track, Laura will move northward across western and 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.

Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph (160 km/h) with higher gusts.

Rapid weakening is forecast, and Laura is expected to become a tropical storm later today. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). An observing site in Alexandria, Louisiana, recently reported a wind gust to 74 mph (119 km/h)