A Twitter friend of mine asked me to publicize his sister's tweet. I'll have a complete update on the storm about 10:10 this morning. 

Jeff stationed himself in Lake Charles and obtained some tremendous footage. Jeff does this so you don't need to.  Highly recommended. 

From "Goodreads.com" on Thursday. I received an email from another reader Friday. It said, in part, As a regular to your blog, I took the bait and ordered Warnings . I am well into the book at the moment and really enjoying it. Who would think weather could be so interesting to a non-weather professional like me? It is very  well done . Congratulations. Hurricane Laura's exceptionally low death toll is evidence meteorologists have tamed (not "conquered") the weather. If you enjoy this blog, I'm confident you will enjoy Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather . 

The situation in western Louisiana is dire.  “We have a major feeding operation going, it’s been a slow process actually getting that started just because there’s no resources here ,” explains Captain Trey Jones, Incident Commander of the [Salvation Army's] Lake Charles response." From KPLC TV. [emphasis added] Please donate to the Salvation Army or other reputable charity (I do not recommend the Red Cross) that is focused on Laura response. The red link will take you directly to the Salvation Army's Laura response donation page. On the sixth day, about 600,000 people were still without power. There will be people without power for at least another week. Meteorologists are talking about the fact that more than half of the fatalities attributed to Laura are from carbon dioxide poisoning rather than as a direct result of the storm itself. Via Twitter, click to enlarge We feel a sense of frustration because this is a known cause of deaths in the aftermath of...

As meteorologists predicted it would be, Hurricane Laura was absolutely devastating. Please donate to the Salvation Army's Hurricane Laura recovery fund or of another reputable charity (note: I do not include the Red Cross).  There is a myth that office buildings are safe in hurricane and tornado-force winds. That certainly isn't true as the above photo (Capital One high-rise) and the photo below (KPLC TV studio) demonstrate. I would also like to direct you to my comments pertaining to the numerous people on social media and in the MSM that were calling Laura a "false alarm" the day after. Those comments ar e here . Addition: The much-maligned storm surge forecasts were correct.

I suspect most or all of the carbon monoxide deaths were from portable generators. Never run a generator indoors (which includes garages and basements) or near an air intake like an air conditioner.

Weather science just a splendid job for the people of Louisiana, far east Texas and Arkansas. Hundreds of lives were saved. Yet, even while 100+mph winds were still blowing, the gripes started. I wish to comment on them and then put Hurricane Laura "to bed." The complaints center around two themes: The forecast was bad. Laura wasn't what was expected. People didn't know it was coming; there was nothing done to help the poor.  The emails below are a small sample to give you the idea. I had to report one to Twitter; it was vile.  Let's begin with the shelters and buses. I don't know from where this came. There were many  photos and stories in the media documenting people boarding buses provided by the government to shelters as far away as San Antonio. Yet, there were people upset about this from as far away as Japan. As far as I can tell, the evacuations went off pretty much without a hitch. With regard to the quality of the forecast...

Hurricane Laura was What We Feared The recovery will take months This is from Lake Charles this morning.  Power failures and damage, unfortunately, have been extensive. Wind gusts near 150 mph have been reported. Photos from Twitter. \ And, this is a leak from a chemical plant. The seriousness is unknown. Power failures have been near total in many areas. Scattered power failures will creep north as the day progresses. The radars at Ft. Polk and Lake Charles have been knocked out of service. Below is the last image before the Lake Charles radar failed at 12:53am. This is what the Lake Charles radar looks like this morning. Even the tower is tilting. The radars are designed to survive 134 mph winds (see next photo below). This was the radar before Laura. This morning, the first responders represent the best of America.  I recommend donating to the Salvation Army Disaster fund . 

The hurricane warning will be accurate, unfortunately. As of 10pm CDT... Hurricane Laura has winds of 150 mph with gusts to 185 according to the National Hurricane Center. We have been seeing gusts to 200+mph in "mini-swirls" rotating around the eye. Lowest barometric pressure has leveled off at about 938mb.  If you decided to stay (I hope you did not), finish charging your phone and computer. The power will fail as the high winds move inland and won't be back for days. Radar at 9:56pm. I have highlighted the coast in blue. The eyewall -- with the most dangerous winds -- is about two hours or so away. Doppler radar, which measures wind speed, caught this 223 mph -- equivalent to an #F-5 tornado -- "mini-swirl" at 9:49pm.  Those were discovered by Dr. Ted Fujita in his Hurricane Andrew research. They rotate around the eye of the storm and will continue to do so in the first two or three hours after landfall. Interstate 20 10 is now closed, as it ...

Newer information higher up on the blog.  As of 6:37pm, the sustained winds in Laura we're measured at 153 mph and the pressure has dropped to 940mb. Note: pressure down to 935mb at 7:15pm. The strengthening continues. It is just four miles an hour below Category 5 status.  -- Original 4:30pm Posting Below -- Laura is an Absolute Monster Satellite at 4:06pm. Colored symbols = lightning. When lightning occurs near the eye, it is a sign of strengthening.  Per the National Hurricane Center, the maximum sustained winds with Laura are 145 mph with higher gusts. The eye's minimum pressure of 947 millibars. They are forecasting some slight additional strengthening to 150 mph. I am forecasting it to reach Cat 5 status of 156 mph or higher (reasoning in the posting below this one). It is past the time I can, in good conscience, recommend evacuation. There are already multiple reports of people trapped by high water. So, let's concentrate on other hazards a...