Hurricane Laura becomes “catastrophic” Category 4 storm
Posted Aug 26, 2020 10:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GALVESTON, Texas — The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Laura has become “an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane” packing 140 mph winds, clocked by an Air Force hurricane hunter airplane flying into the storm.
Laura is expected to strike Wednesday night into Thursday morning somewhere along the Louisiana-Texas border. Forecasters warn of “catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding.”
In the largest U.S. evacuation of the pandemic, more than half a million people were ordered Tuesday to leave an area of the Gulf Coast along the Texas-Louisiana state line.
Laura grew nearly 70 per cent in power from the previous day, churning through warm Gulf of Mexico waters.
Forecasters predict Laura will reach at least 145 mph (233 kph) winds, but may weaken ever so slightly before landfall.
