Tropical Storm Francine’s projected path shifted further to the east overnight, putting Southwest Mississippi firmly in its crosshairs as the storm was expected to develop into a hurricane later today before making landfall early Wednesday afternoon.
Pike County was placed under a tropical storm warning Tuesday morning, joining previously warned Amite and Wilkinson counties.
“Areas generally along and west of a line from McComb to Kenner (La.) to Grand Isle (La.) should prepare for damaging winds of 58 to 73 mph,” a slide from the National Weather Service’s New Orleans office read.
Impacts from the storm, particularly in areas west of Interstate 55, could include damage to trees, mobile homes and roofs, as well as power outages.
Francine was located about 425 miles southwest of Morgan City, La., with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. It had picked up some speed and was moving and was moving north-northeast at 8 mph at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters expected it to slowly move along the Texas coastline today before lunging to the northeast and picking up speed ahead of a predicted Wednesday landfall in Louisiana, possibly as a Category 2 hurricane.
Forecasters believe Southwest Mississippi could start feeling Francince’s winds midday Wednesday.
“However, if the storm speeds up, winds could arrive as early as overnight Tuesday night,” a forecaster’s slide read.
The center of the storm is expected to move into Mississippi on Wednesday night or Thursday.
Forecasters are predicting winds of 58 to 73 mph — strong enough to damage roofing, siding, porches, awnings, carports and sheds — for Pike, Amite and Wilkinson counties, as well as southern Lincoln, Franklin and Adams counties.
Walthall County could face winds of 39 to 57 mph, which are strong enough to damage porches, awnings, carports, sheds and unanchored mobile homes; shear off tree limbs, uproot trees, block roads with debris and cause scattered outages.
“Prepare for life-threatening wind having possible extensive impacts across southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi west of the I-55,” a National Weather Service advisory read Tuesday morning.
In addition to strong winds that could lead to power and communications outages, Francine is expected to dump anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of rain. That has prompted a flood watch that remains in effect through Thursday morning.
“Heavy rainfall along and to the east of the track will have the potential to cause flooding and flash flooding even in areas that don’t normally flood,” according to the advisory. “Rainfall flooding could be worsened due to the heavy rainfall that saturated grounds just last week.”
Areas along the coast were bracing for the potential for storm surge, with forecasters warning that some “locations may be uninhabitable for weeks.”
