“Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Laura made landfall overnight near Cameron, Louisiana, bringing “catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding” to portions of the state, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. The storm had intensified rapidly into a Category 4 hurricane before slamming into the Gulf Coast near the Louisiana-Texas border.
By mid-Thursday, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm but continued to bring damaging winds and flooding rainfall to central and northern Louisiana as it moved north, according to forecasters.
High water levels were persisting Thursday along the Gulf Coast. Tornadoes are possible through Thursday night in parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
