Nate strengthens into a hurricane as US Gulf Coast braces for impact

The news came as the storm has spent a good portion of the day strengthening over warm waters and forming an eye wall — an indicator of a healthy hurricane — on its way to the Gulf of Mexico and later the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Forecasters expect the storm to make landfall somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida panhandle late Saturday or early Sunday morning. States of emergency have been declared in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Hurricane Nate brings the threat of heavy rainfall, “life-threatening” storm surge, surf and rip current conditions, hurricane force winds, and even isolated tornadoes.

One notable city that is threatened by the storm is New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency on Thursday, urging residents not to panic, but rather to make preparations. On Friday, New Orleans began evacuating some residents.

The city is bracing for possible flooding as parts of the city’s drainage system are not in full working order.

“We are in a stronger place w/ power and pumps. But, if #Nate produces large amount of rainfall, we could see some localized flooding,” Landrieu tweeted Friday.

Nate has been tied to 25 deaths in Central America so far.

Forecasters believe Nate will weaken back into a tropical storm relatively quickly once it makes landfall over the U.S., and unlike the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, which sat and dumped rain on Texas and Louisiana, will move quickly up the interior eastern U.S., bringing rain to places that have been experiencing drought conditions.

The remnants of the impending hurricane are then expected to veer east toward Pennsylvania and even Washington, D.C., according to the latest NHC forecast cone.

Two U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are still recovering from Hurricane Maria, which ran through the Caribbean last month. Some Puerto Ricans are still struggling to gain access to food, water, and gas, and power may not be returned to some parts of the island for months. President Trump visited Puerto Rico to meet with local officials and people impacted by the storm on Tuesday. Officials raised the death toll tied to Maria to 34 on Tuesday.

Several meteorologists have noted that this hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30, has been considerably active compared to most.