Emergency management officials in Mississippi are urging residents to prepare and plan as a large tropical storm approaches the state.
According to the National Hurricane Center, tropical storm Francine has strengthened into a hurricane overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, and could be a category 2 storm by the time it makes landfall in Louisiana later today.
Between Monday and Tuesday, forecasters say the central pressure of Francine dropped, meaning the storm is gathering strength and is gradually becoming more organized.
The storm’s track has also continued to shift further east, showing a landfall just south of New Orleans, which could mean greater impacts for Mississippi’s coast.
In conjunction with that update, all three of Mississippi’s coastal counties were placed under a storm surge warning – the National Weather Service’s highest such notice – forecasting roughly 3-5 feet, in addition to several inches of rain.
But Malary White, chief communications officer at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, says Francine will likely impact much of the state, and all Mississippians need to be prepared.
“Our main concern is heavy rain, which will cause flooding, and damaging winds, which can bring down trees and damage power lines,” said White. “The National Weather Service is expecting, pretty much statewide, anywhere between two to seven inches of rain. So any of those areas that are low-lying and tend to flood need to be on alert.”
Dating back to Monday, MEMA has distributed over 200,000 individual sandbags to residents and businesses along coastal Mississippi. Marinas in several towns, such as Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Waveland, have ordered marina evacuations for boat owners.