BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Hurricane Francine tore through the South Louisiana Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm, making landfall with devastating 100 mph winds to wind and dangerous storm surge along the Bayou State coastline.

The eye of Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish at 5 p.m. CT, continuing to bring hurricane-force winds inland to the southern part of the state near Baton Rouge.

As stormy conditions arrived Wednesday afternoon, officials in Louisiana urged residents to stay put until emergency responders could safely reach them if needed. The conditions created by Francine also brought with them the threat of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, which are expected to continue through Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

According to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Francine is located about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, or about 85 miles southwest of New Orleans, and is moving toward the northeast at about 17 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts.

Francine halts travel to New Orleans as emergency services stand by

By Wednesday afternoon, conditions had deteriorated to the point that all flights into and out of New Orleans International Airport were canceled.

Prior to Francine’s arrival, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for the Bayou State.

“After declaring a state of emergency, we have now determined that this storm is so severe that an effective response exceeds the capabilities of state and local governments,” said Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. “This federal assistance is needed to save lives and property.”

Some parishes were under a mandatory curfew from Wednesday afternoon until dawn on Thursday, including Cameron Parish, where flooding occurred before the city made landfall.

Heavy rain and flooding hit New Orleans Wednesday night. Businesses along Bourbon Street remained open, according to FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillion.

According to Poweroutage.us, power outages increased Wednesday after the landfall, with more than 20,500 outages reported across Louisiana.

Where is Francine going now?

According to the NHC, Francine is expected to gradually turn northward, with the center of Francine moving across southeastern Louisiana and southwestern and central Mississippi on Thursday.

Francine became a hurricane on September 10, marking the peak of the 2024 hurricane season, when a named storm will most likely move across the Atlantic basin. As Francine moves north and eventually dissipates, the NHC is also monitoring several other systems in the Atlantic.