Hurricane and Storm Surge Warning issued for the Gulf Coast on Friday
ABC NewsBy MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Delta is growing in size Thursday morning and its wind field is expanding, meaning more people will experience hurricane force winds when it makes landfall in Louisiana Friday afternoon or evening.
Delta does not have an eye but what it does have is size and it is continuing to grow.
The storm is expected to strengthen Thursday and is forecast to once again become a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph by Thursday night.
A hurricane warning has been issued for western and central Louisiana, including as far inland as Alexandria, Louisiana.
A Tropical Storm Warning has also been issued for New Orleans and for Galveston, Texas with a Storm Surge Warning issued for Louisiana and Mississippi.
As Delta makes landfall it should be close to Cameron, Louisiana, which was hit hard by Hurricane Laura just a few weeks ago.
We are hoping that Delta will weaken as it approaches the Gulf Coast to possibly a Category 2 storm with winds near 105 mph or so.
One of our new models is showing landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, on Friday evening.
The biggest threat besides hurricane force winds will be the storm surge that could get as high as 11 feet.
Also, once Delta moves inland, heavy rain will spread into central and northern Louisiana, Southern Arkansas and Western Mississippi, where some areas could see 6 to 12 inches of rain in a matter of hours which will cause flash flooding.
Heavy rain could spread into the Tennessee River Valley for Saturday with up to 3 inches of rain possible in parts of Tennessee.
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