12:45pm: Catastrophic Hurricane Laura is Now a Cat 4 Storm

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Hurricane Laura now has sustained winds of 140 mph. Barometric pressure is down to 950 millibars which is down another 6 millibars just since 10am. It is an incredibly dangerous storm. Storm surge will be more than 20' near and just east of the eye.

 I believe the sustained winds will be 150 to 155 mph with gusts to 165-170 mph at landfall. 

 It doesn't matter if you lived through Rita or Audrey: GET OUT! Almost the entire City of Lake Charles will flood. 

 In the red area below, virtually everyone will lose power for days or even a week or more. As north as Little Rock there will be many that lose power, again for days. Preparation information information here. Prepare now! 
AccuWeather.com
AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss caused by Laura will be $25-30 billion. The estimate is based on an analysis incorporating independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of the storm and is based on a variety of sources, statistics, and unique techniques AccuWeather uses to estimate damage. 
AccuWeather may be conservative. 
Hurricane Laura at 12:26pm
The first tornado warning has been issued in Louisiana. From now until 7am, the tornado risk is in the yellow area.

And, the tornado risk from 7am Thursday to 7am Friday, the tornado risk is in the yellow area.
For more information on the extraordinary storm surge threat, please scroll down.

If you are in an evacuation zone, get out now!! You are running out of time. 

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