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AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager Jesse Ferrell covers extreme weather and the intersection of meteorology and social media.
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Terrifying Cat 4 Laura approaches LA, TX
Hurricane Laura was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane, and is expected to hit tonight around the Louisiana-Texas border.
Published Aug 26, 2020 9:02 PM EDT
UPDATE 5 PM: Hurricane Laura has been upgraded again, now with 145 mph winds. You can keep up with the latest on our continually updated live blog, and on AccuWeather's and my Twitter and Facebook.
At 1 PM today, August 26, 2020, Hurricane Laura was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane, and is expected to hit tonight around the Louisiana-Texas border as a Cat 3 or 4 with winds to 140 mph, causing a massive storm surge of 20 feet that could travel 30 miles inland. Half a million people have been evacuated.
Laura 4 PM NAM Model Analysis via Windy.com
Laura has a history of huge waves and high winds. No more operating buoys or oil rigs are in its path, so we may not know the true power of the storm before it hits the coast. This morning, a Shell Oil Rig (Walker Ridge) measured waves of over 34 feet this morning!
Shell Oil Rig (Walker Ridge) reported 37.4 foot waves at 4 AM
The same station reported winds as high as 93.2 knots, or 107 mph.
Shell Oil Rig (Walker Ridge) reported winds of 93.2 knots around the same time.
Hurricane Laura COD Sandwich Satellite 8/26 4:13 PM