Laura becomes hurricane, course shifts to west
Tue, 08/25/2020 - 8:57am
Laura has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with winds of over 75 mph and gusts of over 90 mph. Hurricane watchers project the storm could strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 110 mph by the time it hits the Louisiana-Texas coast.
Latest projected paths for the eye of the hurricane have shifted to the west, to the Lake Charles-Beaumont area. If that holds true, it would spare Avoyelles Parish the direct hit that had been projected as of Monday morning.
Laura killed 11 people on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Marco, which was briefly a hurricane before hitting the Gulf Coast, has mostly broken up.