At a Glance Laura is forecast to quickly intensify in the Gulf of Mexico.Warm Gulf waters and the upper-level wind pattern favor intensification.Mulitple recent Gulf hurricanes have undergone rapid intensification prior to landfall. The Gulf of Mexico has been a rapidly strengthening hurricane hotbed in recent years, and now there's a chance Laura could join the list. Laura is expected to push through the Gulf of Mexico into Wednesday, where atmospheric and oceanic conditions will be favorable for strengthening. In...

At a Glance Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico should allow Laura to strengthen significantly.Laura is predicted to become a major hurricane prior to landfall on the upper Texas or southwest Louisiana coasts.Life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds will affect areas near where Laura makes landfall.Storm surge could penetrate as much as 30 miles inland in southwest Louisiana. Laura is also an inland flood risk as far north as Arkansas or southern Missouri.Isolated tornadoes are also expected from Laura. Hurricane...

Satellite imagery is giving meteorologists a jaw-dropping viewof Laura's growth into a major hurricane. This first satellite loop shows Laura's rapid intensification from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. Maximum sustained winds increased by 65 mph in the 24 hours ending 1 p.m. CDT on Wednesday. That means Laura went from a 75 mph Category 1 to a Category 4 major hurricane with 140 mph winds. Here is a closer view of Laura on infrared satellite just after it became a...

Laura has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane as it heads for a destructive landfall near the Texas and Louisiana border. A catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds will batter the region and a threat of flooding rain and strong winds will extend well inland. The maximum sustained winds in Laura increased to 140 mph at 1 p.m. CDT on Wednesday. Just 24 hours ago, Laura had winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane. Conditions are expected...

At a Glance Laura has made landfall near Lake Charles, Louisiana with winds of 150 mph. Wind gusts of 100-135 mph have been recorded in southwestern Louisiana. Catastrophic storm surge and damaging winds will affect areas near where Laura makes landfall.Storm surge could penetrate as much as 40 miles inland in southwest Louisiana. Laura is also an inland flood risk as far north and east as Arkansas and the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.Isolated tornadoes are also expected from Laura. Hurricane...

At a Glance Rainfall from Laura will spread as far east as the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and mid-Atlantic by this weekend.Strong winds could cause tree damage and scattered power outages as far north as ArkansasLaura might produce isolated tornadoes along its path into the weekend. Hurricane Laura will now weaken after making landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, but its rain, some wind, and even potential tornadoes are expected to spread inland north and east as the storm moves inland. Here's...

A woman on the Texas coast gives a humorous pep talk to her pets and says some parting words to her house before evacuating inland ahead of Hurricane Laura. ...

The powerful storm has left more than 500,000 in the dark in Louisiana. ...

At a Glance Laura generated a major storm surge along parts of the Louisiana coast.The storm surge was likely the worst from where it made landfall in Cameron, Louisiana, to areas east of there.Laura's track likely spared Lake Charles and Port Arthur from a worst-case scenario. Hurricane Laura brought a major storm surge to the Louisiana coast, but its track might have helped spare some larger cities from a flooding catastrophe. Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, where a storm...

An aerial view shows the dramatic extent of the damage in Lake Charles from Hurricane Laura. ...

The first daylight video is emerging from Hurricane Laura’s aftermath in Lake Charles, Louisiana. ...

Meteorologists Jim Cantore and Stephanie Abrams were there as the first major hurricane of the season made landfall. ...

Hurricane Laura is causing the Mississippi River to reverse directions. Take a look. ...