Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall mid-day to evening with nearly 100 mph winds.
As Hurricane Francine closes in on Louisiana’s coast the unusually large eye of the storm has limited its ability to intensify its winds. The storm, now traveling 13 mph, is expected to make landfall with 90 mph winds and gusts of 110 mph, according to the National Weather Service Senior Meteorologist Phil Grigsby on Wednesday morning.
The storm should make landfall near the Atchafalaya with storm surges of five to 10 feet from Cameron to Port Fourchon of 5-10 feet, and four to seven feet from Port Fourchon to the Mississippi River. Lake Ponchtrain’s predicted storm surges have increased from three to five feet to four to six feet.
Grigsby, a 20 year veteran meteorologist, said this is the first time he’s ever seen a hurricane with an eye this large. The diameter of the eye, he explained, has limited its ability to intensify its wind strength.
“It’s quite interesting,” he said. “Think of it just like a figure skater, and whenever they close their arms up they spin faster and whenever they bring their arms out they slow down – that’s what’s happening. If it’s a big enough eye, it just can’t close off as much and spin as fast.”