Thursday, Sep 12 update from the National Hurricane Center: Latest on Tropical Depression Francine

Article first published: Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024, 5 a.m. ET

Article last updated: Thursday, Sep. 12, 2024, 8 a.m. ET

As per the National Hurricane Center's 8 am Thursday update, Francine entered Louisiana and then headed to Mississippi. Francine has reached new lows of intensity and has downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. Tropical Depression Francine is 30 miles south of Jackson Mississippi, with maximum sustained wind of 35 mph. It’s moving 12 mph to the north-northeast.

"A turn toward the north is expected during the next day or so, with some decrease in forward speed." meteorologists observed. "On the forecast track, the center of Francine will move over central and northern portions of Mississippi through early Friday." They also said "Continued weakening is forecast, and Francine is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later today."

Francine traveled through Louisiana and is advancing to Mississippi. With sustained winds of 35 miles per hour, Francine has downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression.

YESTERDAY (Wednesday):

Yesterday, there were several developments, particularly at night: first, Francine started out as a Category 2 hurricane and a Category 1 hurricane but eventually became a tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. Louisiana's coastline was expected to encounter Francine, coming from the Gulf of Mexico

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

The Storm Surge Warning has been discontinued between Grand Isle,

Louisiana and the mouth of the Pearl River The Tropical Storm Warning has been discontinued for the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including Lake Maurepas, Lake Pontchartrain, and metropolitan New Orleans.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:

- The mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi/Alabama Border

- Lake Maurepas

- Lake Pontchartrain

A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline.

For a depiction of areas at risk, please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov. This is a life-threatening situation.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND:

WIND: Wind gusts to tropical-storm force are possible for the next several hours over portions of southeastern Louisiana, southeastern and central Mississippi, and southwestern Alabama.

RAINFALL: Francine is expected to bring storm total rainfall of 3 to 6 inches across portions of Mississippi, eastern Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. Localized amounts up to 10 inches are possible within rain bands over portions of central and northern Alabama and over the Florida Panhandle. This rainfall could lead to locally considerable flash and urban flooding.

For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Francine, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml? Rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml? Ero. For a list of rainfall observations (and wind reports) associated this storm, see the companion storm summary at WBCSCCNS1 with the WMO header ACUS41 KWBC or at the following link: www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/nfdscc1.html.

STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

Mouth of the Pearl River, LA to MS/AL Border...2-4 ft Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas...2-4 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.

For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml? PeakSurge.

TORNADOES: A few tornadoes are possible today, mainly this morning and afternoon from the Florida Panhandle to north-central Alabama.

SURF: Swells generated by Francine will continue to affect much of the northern Gulf coast through today. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Source: National Hurricane Center

This article was generated by the Sun Herald Bot, artificial intelligence software that analyzes information from the National Hurricane Center and applies it to templates created by journalists in the newsroom. We are experimenting with this and other new ways of providing more useful content to our readers and subscribers. You can report errors or bugs to mcclatchybot@mcclatchy.com . Full hurricane coverage at sunherald.com/news/weather-news/