CAT. 4 HURRICANE LAURA NOW PACKING 145MPH WINDS… Hurricane Laura continues to rapidly intensify on this Wednesday evening. I *hope* people in evacuation zones in parts of east Texas and western Louisiana have heeded the warnings as potentially catastrophic storm surge and dangerous winds in excess of 145 mph will be possible as the core of Laura moves ashore. Landfall is expected between 9PM and 3AM tonight. We note multiple tornado warnings are in progress this evening in parts of Louisiana as outer feeder bands of Laura continue to move onshore.

DANGEROUS LAURA IS RAPIDLY STRENGTHENING… Hurricane Laura has rapidly strengthened to a category 4, major hurricane this evening. Intensification is likely not done just yet. Laura might become stronger before its landfall tonight in eastern Texas or western Louisiana. Maximum sustained winds as of the 4PM advisory are at 145 mph with minimum central pressure down to 947 millibars. Laura continues to move northwest at 16 mph.

LITTLE TO NO DIRECT LOCAL IMPACTS FROM LAURA IN SW AL & NW FL… Direct local impacts from Hurricane Laura (outside of ongoing rip currents and high waves at the beaches) are not expected in south Alabama or northwest Florida. Impacts from Laura will be possible basically from the Mouth of the Mississippi River westward to the core impact zone in western Louisiana and eastern Texas.

APP… Be sure to download our free RedZone Weather app if you haven’t done so already. redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the app for your iOS or Android device. Once you have the app downloaded, be sure to visit the Alerts tab in the lower right corner of the app to select the specific notifications you would like to receive straight from me.

Have a good Wednesday evening!

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