Hurricane Laura is up to 150 mile per hour winds, and according to a Colorado State University forecaster If Laura maintains its current wind speed and pressure it will be the strongest storm to hit the state in over 100 years.
Along with incredible power, Laura is set to flood most of Cameron Parish and bring up to 20 feet of storm surge to the southwest Louisiana coast. Governor Edwards warns I-10 is likely to be overtopped in many areas in the southwest, and many structures will be flattened.
Laura is so powerful it is expected to maintain hurricane strength up to Shreveport. Joel Cline with the National Hurricane Center says it’s set to drop half a foot of rain in just a few hours along its path.
Landfall in Cameron Parish is now just six hours away.
20 feet of storm surge would likely top even the New Orleans levee system in some parts, but Congressman Garret Graves says he’s concerned about the possibility for mass devastation in southwest Louisiana, which doesn’t really have much in the way of any levees…
Graves did warn that Hurricane Rita, which landed a similar blow in 2005, did wipe out large portions of the region’s wetlands.
Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to cover most of the state Thursday, and that means mass power outages are likely. Entergy CEO Phillip Mays says prepare for the worst by changing the settings on your freezer.
Hurricane-force winds are projected to extend as far east a Baton Rouge and Alexandria.