Tropical Storm Francine churned off the Texas Gulf Coast early Tuesday with sustained winds of 65 mph. The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later today as it traverses northeast toward the Gulf Coast and becomes a looming threat for dozens of offshore oil and gas platforms and inland refineries. "The storm is starting to get its act together," AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex Dasilva told USA Today, adding that warm waters across the Gulf served as "rocket fuel" for the storm. The latest weather models expect Francine to…
