August 26, 2020
Hurricane Laura strengthened steadily yesterday and overnight and is now a strong category 2 hurricane with 110 mph sustained winds, 1 mph from a category 3. Edit: while I was writing this and as the graphic shows, Laura is now a 115 mph category 3 hurricane. It strengthened by over 45 mph in 24 hours. It is forecast to become a 130 mph category 4 storm in the next 12 hours and then weaken some before landfall due increasing wind shear near the coast. The track still calls for a landfall late tonight right on the Texas/Louisiana border which will thankfully spare the Houston metro area from a direct hit. Unfortunately this will probably be a devastating storm for Lake Charles, LA and the surrounding area. Some models still indicate that Laura could be even stronger than the official forecast, the NHC mentions this in their discussion, and some do not show weakening prior to landfall. The core of Laura is very large which helps it be able to fight off impediments such wind shear and dry air better than smaller storms. Weakening would be a blessing, but I'm concerned this may not happen.
In less there's something significant to report this will be my last update on Laura.
Have a great rest of the week.
Chris
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