Hurricane Laura is now forecast to hit Texas and Louisiana as a 'catastrophic' Category 4 storm

People evacuating Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Laura
(Image credit: Andrew Caballero-ReynoldS/AFP/Getty Images)

Hurricane Laura is "rapidly" gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico and is now expected to crash into the Texas-Louisiana border region as a "catastrophic" Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center warned Wednesday morning. "Some areas when they wake up Thursday morning, they're not going to believe what happened," said Stacy Stewart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center. "We could see storm surge heights more than 15 feet in some areas." The National Weather Service warned that "power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.