Laura Now A Major Hurricane

Laura is now a very dangerous category 3-major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Sustained winds are at 115mph with higher gusts. Minimum pressure is now 963mb.

Laura continues to track NW and will make landfall tonight near the Texas/Louisiana border. Impacts will be far felt from the center of the storm. Hurricane force winds extend out 75 miles and tropical storm force winds extend out 175 miles from the center.

As Laura approaches the Tennessee Valley on Friday, strong to severe storms will be possible. We will have to watch for the threat for tornadoes. Landfalling tropical systems are notorious for producing tornadoes, sometimes hundreds of miles away from the center of the circulation.

We will be fully staffed in the Tennessee Valley Weather Center Friday. We will have further updates throughout the day today.