Texas and Louisiana brace for ‘devastation’ as Hurricane Laura intensifies

Hurricane Laura is predicted to make landfall in East Texas and parts of Louisiana as a major hurricane, with winds of around 115 mph. Capital Weather Gang’s Matthew Cappucci tells us what to expect.

The storm’s exact track is still coming into focus, with areas from Houston and Galveston, east into the Beaumont-Port Arthur region potentially seeing severe impacts, along with areas farther east, such as Lake Charles.

On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center upgraded hurricane watches to warnings, and expanded them to cover Galveston, coastal greater Houston, Port Arthur, Tex., and Lake Charles, La. Areas far from Hurricane Laura’s core will still be affected by strong winds and heavy rain.

Passing over abnormally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Laura is forecast to undergo bursts of intensification until it approaches land.

The National Hurricane Center is forecasting a “lifethreatening” surge or stormdriven rise in water above normally dry land at the coast. Laura is also likely to unleash a narrow swath of destructive wind gusts over 100 mph near where it makes landfall. Read moreSubscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube