Laura Now Forecast to be a Catastrophic Category 4 Hurricane

By JEFF MARTIN, JOHN MONE and STACEY PLAISANCE

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) – Hurricane Laura is rapidly intensifying and forecasters now expect it to become a “catastrophic” Category 4 hurricane.

It’s already a Category 3 as it approaches Texas and Louisiana, with landfall expected overnight.

Stacy Stewart at the National Hurricane Center says some people are going to wake up Thursday and not believe what happened.

He says storm surge heights could top 15 feet in places, and what doesn’t get blown down by the wind could easily get knocked down by water pushing well inland.

More than half a million people are under evacuation orders. Hurricane-force winds are expected to reach nearly 200 miles inland.

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8/26/2020 9:22:37 AM (GMT -5:00)