The rapid intensification of Hurricane Laura overnight has forecasters in awe as they warn residents of Texas and Louisiana of the escalating threat posed by the powerful storm.
The National Hurricane Center announced Wednesday morning that Laura has become a “major” Category 3 hurricane and could be briefly upgraded to Category 4 within 24 hours. Landfall is expected somewhere along the upper Texas or southwest Louisiana coasts Thursday morning.
Heavy rain, hurricane-force winds, widespread flash flooding, and storm surge that could reach 30 miles inland are all possible.
Aghast reactions by meteorologists and other scientists came pouring in early Wednesday as the forecast paints an increasingly grim picture.
“Laura has quite simply exploded overnight, exactly what we were afraid of,” Matt Lanza of Space City Weather said in a tweet.
Thankfully for Houston, the track forecast has held up to our east, as Laura has quite simply exploded overnight, exactly what we were afraid of. Laura landfalls tonight as a major hurricane close to the Texas/Louisiana border. https://t.co/45XaD56Yu2
— Matt Lanza (@mattlanza) August 26, 2020
“I should be sleeping but impossible when this is happening with #Laura. Look at the eye starting to get warm and clear out on this satellite loop. Classic signature of a powerful hurricane getting stronger — just horrible to see it so close to the coast,” Eric Blake, a senior hurricane specialist at NOAA’s National Hurricane, said on his personal Twitter account.
I should be sleeping but impossible when this is happening with #Laura. Look at the eye starting to get warm and clear out on this satellite loop. Classic signature of a powerful hurricane getting stronger- just horrible to see it so close to the coast. pic.twitter.com/qivuWfgulL
— Eric Blake ? (@EricBlake12) August 26, 2020
“Once again that pit in my stomach when you wake up to what is now something you knew it would become and #Laura still has room to grow. Rapid intensification continues with this storm as guidance has predicted. Its already a high end Cat2 and the eye hasn’t even cleared out yet,” the Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore tweeted not long before Laura was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane.
Once again that pit in my stomach when you wake up to what is now something you knew it would become and #Laura still has room to grow. Rapid intensification continues with this storm as guidance has predicted. Its already a high end Cat2 and the eye hasn’t even cleared out yet pic.twitter.com/diAl4vpoq8
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 26, 2020
Even the National Hurricane Center marveled at how “remarkable” the degree of intensification the storm underwent overnight in its 4 a.m. discussion, adding, “And there are no signs it will stop soon.”
Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as all kinds of warnings and watches have been put in place across the region.
