Tropical Storm Francine forms off Mexico and is expected to hit Louisiana as a hurricane

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Francine formed Monday off the coast from Mexico and was expected to inundate the Texas coast with about a foot of rain before making landfall in Louisiana as a hurricane on Wednesday evening.

“We’re going to have a very dangerous situation by the time Wednesday rolls around for portions of the northcentral Gulf Coast, primarily along the Louisiana coast, where we’re going to see the potential for life-threatening storm surge flooding and hurricane-force winds,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Francine targets a stretch of coastline that has not yet been fully restored since Hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake CharlesLouisiana, four years ago.

The hurricane center said Francine was located about 245 miles (395 kilometers) southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, and about 480 miles (770 kilometers) southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. Francine’s peak winds were about 50 mph (85 kilometers per hour) Monday morning. A tropical storm is defined by sustained winds between 39 mph and 73 mph (62 kph and 117 kph).

Meteorologists say Francine is likely to become a hurricane as it approaches the northwestern Gulf Coast on Wednesday, potentially producing storm surges of up to 10 feet (3 meters).

“Francine is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of significant coastal flooding along extreme northeastern Mexico, portions of the southernmost Texas coast, the Upper Texas Coast, southern Louisiana, and southern Mississippi through Thursday morning. There is a risk of flash flooding and urban flooding across portions of the Mid-South Wednesday through Friday morning,” the hurricane center warned.