Hurricane Francine made landfall as a Category 2 storm in Terrebonne Parish, La., at approximately 6 p.m. EDT, after rapidly intensifying throughout on Wednesday.
By 9 p.m. EDT, the storm had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds decreasing from 100 mph to 75 mph.
The National Weather Service (NWS), however, still described the storm as "life-threatening" and warned of "considerable" flash and urban flooding, hurricane-force winds and tornadoes along the Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of the Alabama coastlines.
The storm's center was about 50 miles west-southwest of New Orleans by the 9 p.m. EDT update and was headed in the northeast direction at 17 mph.
Heavy rain and strong winds were spreading across the New Orleans metropolitan area, the National Hurricane Center said, and officials said conditions would “continue to deteriorate” in the next couple of hours.
NWS New Orleans said the tides were going up and “will be continuing to go up” through the night, warning people to stay home until the storm passes.
"NO ONE is out of the woods yet," the NWS New Orleans account said on X at about 8:20 p.m. EDT.
"NO ONE is out of the woods yet," the NWS New Orleans account said on X at about 8:20 p.m. EDT.
A hurricane warning was in effect for the Louisiana coast from Vermilion/Cameron Line to Grand Isle. A hurricane watch was in effect for Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain, including metropolitan New Orleans, according to the most recent official advisory from 8 p.m. EDT.
Reports were already surfacing on Wednesday evening of significant damage to homes and infrastructure.
Jefferson Parish was warning people to preserve water by limiting non-essential activities, saying water had infiltrated the sewer lines, and if too much water enters the system, it can cause sewer backups.
Many people remained without power. A state official said 175,225 outages have been reported statewide, primarily in Lafourche, Terrebonne, Jefferson, Orleans and Ascension.
New Orleans officials issued a warning that AT&T and T-Mobile customers “are experiencing difficulty connecting with 9-1-1 in Orleans Parish,” according to New Orleans’s emergency preparedness campaign, which provided an alternative number: 504-671-3600.
