Louisiana power outage tracker: Nearly 350,000 without power in aftermath of Francine

Francine made landfall along the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people before weakening into a tropical storm Wednesday night and weakening again into a tropical depression Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Francine made landfall in the Parish of Terrebonne, about 30 miles south-southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be near 100 mph.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard had been mobilized and had almost 400 high-water vehicles, 87 boats, and 50 helicopters ready to aid rescue and recovery efforts. He urged residents to follow instructions of local officials, including evacuation if necessary.

According to the hurricane center, Francine is forecast to move further inland over southeastern Louisiana Thursday, with heavy rainfall expected across Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. According to the 7 a.m. CDT advisory on Thursday, the storm was located about 30 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

The NHC said continued weakening is forecast, as Francine is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later Friday.

Francine live updates: Hundreds of thousands in the dark as Francine slams Southeast

Louisiana power outage map

According to the USA TODAY power outage tracker , there are over 347,000 outages reported in Louisiana as of 9:13 .m. ET.

There are over 63,000 outages reported in Jefferson Parish, Over 50,000 reported in Orleans Parish, over 35,000 reported in Lafourche Parish and over 25,000 reported in Terrebonne Parish.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Louisiana power outage tracker: Nearly 350,000 without power in aftermath of Francine