07:30 Newscast, August 24th, 2017

Harvey was upgraded to a tropical storm late last night and strengthened even more this morning, as it is still expected to reach hurricane strength before making landfall along the Texas coast. State Climatologist Barry Keim says that should happen tomorrow evening as the storm turns east and slows down. He says there’s the potential that over 20 inches of rain will fall, with Houston/Galveston being ground zero…:
Cut 14 (09) “the state”
Keim says 5 to 10 inches of rain over any given area of the state can not be ruled out over the next week.

Calcasieu Parish is putting their guard up. Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for the parish, Dick Gremillion, says they anticipate a lot of rain and depending on the track, storm surge is also a possibility:
Cut 10 (08) “inches”

Twenty-five years ago today one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history made landfall in Florida and then crossed the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near Morgan City. Former WAFB Meteorologist Mike Graham was working at the Baton Rouge TV station and remembers the anxiety as the storm took aim on Louisiana…:
Cut 7 (11) “Louisiana coast”
Andrew slammed into Louisiana on August 26th, 1992.

St. Martinville hopes to become “The Pepper City of the World.” Mayor Pro Tem Mike Fuselier says they will ask the state legislature to pass a resolution giving them the prestigious title. He says for nearly a century, St. Martinville has had a pepper industry, like Pepper’s Unlimited…:
Cut 4 (07) “internationally”
St. Martinville is also known for the company Cajun Chef, which produces 250 different products.