Meteorologist tells Scoot: When Francine hits Louisiana, it won't stay long

Tropical Storm Francine is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane on Louisiana's central coast mid-week.

National Weather Service meteorologist Shawn O'Neill told WWL's Scoot on the Air that Francine will strengthen over the next 24 hours.

"It's still not impressively organized," said O'Neill. "It's still going to take some time for it to get completely developed."

But with warmer than normal Gulf waters and low wind shear, O'Neill says the storm is bound to strengthen into a hurricane.

Wind shear and dryer air as the storm approaches the coast should hamper further development.

"Again, those things can change," O'Neill said.

While the storm is meandering west-northwest around five mile per hour, the forecast calls for it to pick up speed as it approaches land.

"The one good thing, you know, as far as the track is concerned, is that this is not going to be a stalling-type storm," said O'Neill. "It's going to move, so hopefully, we can get it in and out as quick as possible."