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Hurricane Francine intensified to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 miles per hour before making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday (September 11). The storm hit the coast in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, around 6 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. Francine is now moving inland, and is expected to weaken rapidly.
Francine has triggered tornado warnings across the region, and officials have urged residents who have not already evacuated to stay indoors for their safety. Over 53,000 customers were without power in Louisiana shortly after Francine made landfall, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry warned that some residents could be without power "for some time."
The storm is likely to spare New Orleans from the worst winds, but the city is expected to experience heavy rainfall. As the storm approached, streets in flood-prone areas of New Orleans began to fill with water.
President Joe Biden approved a federal emergency declaration for Louisiana to unlock more government assistance, following a request from Governor Landry.
According to The New York Times, Francine is expected to cut a somewhat similar path as Hurricane Ida did in 2021. However, Francine is not as powerful as Ida, which arrived as a Category 4 storm with maximum winds of 150 miles per hour.