(CNN) — Francine has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and is forecast to keep strengthening – possibly to a Category 2 storm – ahead of landfall along the Louisiana coast Wednesday.
Francine was about 245 miles from Morgan City, Louisiana, early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center earlier issued a hurricane watch for the New Orleans area as the forecast track shifted slightly eastward.
Forecasters expect the hurricane to continue strengthening in the record-warm Gulf of Mexico through Wednesday morning and make landfall Wednesday afternoon or evening. Sustained winds could reach 100 mph prior to landfall, the hurricane center said.
In Louisiana, some communities were evacuating and slamming closed their floodgates in anticipation of the storm’s likely landfall there. The Federal Emergency Management Agency encouraged those in the path of Francine to prepare as it “poses a serious threat.”
“Do not wait until the last minute – Francine …