NEW ORLEANS —
Tracking the Tropics:
As of the 10 AM Update on Tuesday, Francine remained a tropical storm with top winds of 65 mph and the track has shifted closer to the New Orleans metro area with hurricane warnings going to Lafourche and Terrebonne and Lower Jefferson parishes.
A fast-moving tropical storm Francine is still expected to strengthen into a hurricane prior to a Wednesday afternoon landfall, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
Meteorologist Payton Malone says that dry air has been inhibiting Francine's development and it sits with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and gusts up to 75 miles per hour as it has since late Monday night.
There are hurricane warnings for Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes and Lower Jefferson. The rest of southeast Louisiana is under a tropical storm warning. The 4 pm update from the National Hurricane Center could show a shift in track more towards New Orleans and St. Tammany.
Malone said that storm surge in St. Mary and parts of Terrebonne could approach 10 feet, but 4-7 feet surges in Grand Isle and lower Jefferson could cause coastal flooding.
He also says that a narrow area to the north side of the storm could produce 8-12 inches of rain where it falls, which could lead to flooding. However, the majority of the area won't get but 2-4 inches and the storm should speed by rapidly, being out of southeast Louisiana completely around midnight Thursday.
The biggest threats, outside of that narrow area of heavy rain, is for high winds causing power outages and downed trees.