Francine gains hurricane strength en route to Louisiana landfall

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Francine grew into a hurricane Tuesday evening as it moves across warm Gulf waters off Texas toward Louisiana where it is forecast to make landfall in a day's time.

In its 11 p.m. EDT update , the National Hurricane Center said Francine maintained maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. It had reached Category 1 storm-status on the Saffir-Simpson scale about three hours earlier.

Forecasts said the storm is expected to intensify prior to making landfall late Wednesday afternoon or evening in Louisiana but will experience rapid weakening afterward.

The system Tuesday evening was located in the NHC update about 185 miles east-northeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande and roughly 295 miles southwest of Morgan City, La.

Francine has been relatively stationary, moving northeast at 10 mph, but forecasters said it was starting to pick up speed as it moved toward the Louisiana coast.

NHC forecasters earlier said that the storm should grow to a Category 2 hurricane by Wednesday.

"On the forecast track, Francine is anticipated to make landfall in Louisiana Wednesday afternoon or evening. After landfall, the center is expected to move northward into the Mississippi Wednesday night and Thursday," NHC forecasters said in their advisory.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Lake Maurepas, Lake Pontchartrain and metropolitan New Orleans in Louisiana.

A Tropical Storm Warning also is in effect for the Louisiana coast east of Sabine pass to the Vermilion-Cameron Line and the Alabama coast from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border.

The Hurricane Warning for the southwestern coast of Louisiana from Sabine Pass to Cameron has been changed to a Tropical Storm Warning.

The Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Cameron, La., to the Mississippi-Alabama border, Vermilion Bay, Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain.

Meanwhile, Francine is packing heavy rain, which is expected to turn into urban and coastal flooding once the storm reaches land.

The storm system is expected to bring storm total rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with local amounts to 12 inches across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through early Friday, according to forecasters, who warned the increased risk will bring "considerable flash and urban flooding."

Earlier reports said tropical storm-force winds are extending some 140 miles from the center of the storm. This risk area will grow as the storm strengthens.

Port Fourchon to the mouth of the Mississippi River could see a storm surge as high as 7 feet while High Island, Texas, near the Bolivar Peninsula, could reach 5 feet.

"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," the center said. "Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycles and can vary greatly over short distances."

The NHC said storm surge is not expected to pose a threat to reduction system levees.

So far this hurricane season there have been five other named storms -- Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby and Ernesto. Beryl, Debby and Ernesto became hurricanes.