TS Francine expected to become hurricane early Tuesday ahead of landfall in Louisiana

The tropics are heating up after nearly a month of inactivity.

Tropical Storm Fancine is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane early Tuesday ahead of its expected landfall Wednesday in Louisiana, according to the National Weather Hurricane Center. The storm's winds remained at about 65 mph just after midnight.

Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and two other tropical disturbances are developing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa.

It is the first named storm since Ernesto on Aug. 12. The last time the Atlantic went that quiet during August and September was back in 1968, according to Colorado State University researcher Philip Klotzbach.

The traditional peak of hurricane season is Sept. 10. Historically speaking, about two-thirds of all storm activity occurs between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10.

Francine

Evacuation orders were quickly issued in some coastal communities and residents began filling sandbags in preparation for heavy rains and widespread flooding.

Francine, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was expected to become a hurricane shortly, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday night. The storm was already being felt in Mexico, where drenching rains closed schools as the storm gathered strength in the Gulf.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged residents "not to panic, but be prepared" and heed evacuation warnings. Forecasters said Francine's landfall in south Louisiana was expected Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 96 to 110 mph

Francine's storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 10 feet from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said.

"It's a potential for significantly dangerous, life-threatening inundation," said Michael Brennan, director of the hurricane center, adding it could also send "dangerous, damaging winds quite far inland."

He said landfall was likely somewhere between Sabine Pass - on the Texas-Louisiana line - and Morgan City, Louisiana, about 220 miles to the east.

The hurricane center said Francine was last about 145 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, and about 425 miles south-southwest of Cameron, with top sustained winds of about 65 mph. It was moving north-northwest at 7 mph.

As rain fell Monday in northern Mexico, more than a dozen neighborhoods in Matamoros - across the border from Brownsville, Texas - flooded, forcing schools to close Monday and Tuesday. Marco Antonio Hernandez Acosta, manager of the Matamoros Water and Drainage Board, said they were waiting for Mexico's federal government to provide pumps to drain affected areas.

The storm was expected to move in north-northeast motion through Monday evening and then accelerate to the northeast beginning Tuesday before nearing the upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines Wednesday.

Other Tropical Disturbances

Out in the Atlantic Ocean, two tropical disturbances are working west toward the Americas.

Both of the systems are too far out to make any reliable predictions about.

However, the National Weather Service gives both of them a 60 percent chance to develop into a named storm in the next 7 days.

The ABC11 First Alert Weather Team will be sure to keep a close eye on these systems and let you know as soon as there's better information about their impact on North Carolina.