Tracking the Tropics: Laura now forecast to be a major storm

Tropical Storm Laura is now forecast to make landfall as a major hurricane on Thursday morning. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center puts the storm coming in with winds of around 115 mph.

This will create life-threatening rain, wind, and storm surge for western Louisiana and potentially eastern Texas.

For our area in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi we are going to miss most of the major effects. What we will see though are higher water levels along the coast and most likely more surge than what we saw with Marco. We are under a storm surge watch across the area with 3-6 foot levels possible. The higher amounts will be farther west.

Look for tropical showers over the next few days with an isolated tornado threat. Otherwise more persistent rain will move in for the end of the week as Laura turns east while moving inland.