Francine takes aim at Louisiana, where it's expected to hit as a hurricane

A hurricane warning is in effect for much of southern Louisiana as Tropical Storm Francine is expected to arrive on Wednesday from the Gulf of Mexico.

It's expected to bring storm surge, strong winds, heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and Texas.

“We need to keep our eyes on this one. It won’t be Laura , it won’t be Ida , but it is still going to be an extensive impact in terms of the role of that storm as it rolls into south-central and southeastern Louisiana," state climatologist Jay Grymes told reporters.

The storm is currently in the Gulf, about 130 miles east of Mexico's Tamaulipas state as of 2 p.m. ET. Forecasters said the storm is moving northeast and away from the coasts of northeast Mexico and southern Texas on Tuesday afternoon.

Its maximum sustained winds were 65 mph on Tuesday, but it's expected to strengthen and make landfall on the central Louisiana coast as a Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service .

Louisiana will start to see the tropical-storm-force winds moving inland by mid-morning on Wednesday, with Francine making landfall mid-afternoon, Grymes said. Residents will need to have any preparations complete by then.

Rainfall across southern Louisiana could total 4 to 8 inches through Friday morning, forecasters said, with much of Louisiana and Mississippi accumulating 12 inches. The heavy rainfall will push some rivers over flood stage. "All of south-central and southeastern Louisiana under the gun with this storm," Grymes said.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for coastal areas not under a hurricane warning, including Louisiana's far southeast, along with the coast of Mississippi and the upper Texas coast.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a statewide state of emergency on Monday.

Cameron Parish, in the state's southwest, and a large section of Terrebonne Parish, in the southeast, are under mandatory evacuation orders . The state's department of transportation offered a map of evacuation routes .

Both New Orleans and Baton Rouge are located in a large section of southeast Louisiana that could see major flooding rain and several tornadoes . Baton Rouge's mayor declared a state of emergency and schools are closed on Wednesday and Thursday. School systems across the state will be closed on Wednesday. NPR member station WWNO has a list of which school systems are closing .

The abnormally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico are fueling the storm's development and intensity. The warmer waters are a hallmark of climate change .

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