(NewsNation) — Francine was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday night after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 2 hurricane.
The storm system knocked out electricity to over a quarter-million Americans and threatened widespread flooding throughout the region.
Now, the storm continued to move inland Thursday over southeastern Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, bringing heavy rainfall to Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A storm surge warning remains in effect for Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Mississippi-Alabama border; Lake Maurepas; and Lake Pontchartrain.
Francine makes landfall
-
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: The Brown family stand on a corner while waiting for law enforcement after their power went down in the Polk Street neighborhood on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: First Responders with the Coteau Fire District coordinate while clearing debris after Hurricane Francine swept through the area on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
DULAC, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Floodwater fills a cemetery as Hurricane Francine moves in on September 11, 2024 in Dulac, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine maintains its Category 1 classification and is projected to make landfall along the Louisiana coast later this afternoon. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
DULAC, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: A road is blocked off ahead of Hurricane Francine’s arrival on September 11, 2024 in Dulac, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine maintains its Category 1 classification and is projected to make landfall along the Louisiana coast later this afternoon. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Lekenya McKay sweeps floodwater out of her home on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Isaiah Brown comforts his younger brother Malachi after their power went down in the Polk Street neighborhood on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Signage is strewn across the intersection after Hurricane Francine swept through the area on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: First Responders with the Coteau Fire District clear hanging tree branches after Hurricane Francine swept through the area on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Isaiah Brown sits in his room under battery-powered ornaments after the power went down in his neighborhood on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: A first responder drives through town after the power went down on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: A fallen tree blocks an intersection on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: A fallen tree blocks an intersection on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
HOUMA, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 11: Isaiah Brown comforts his younger brother Malachi after their power went down in the Polk Street neighborhood on September 11, 2024 in Houma, Louisiana. Hurricane Francine has been upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane and continues to make landfall along the Louisiana coast. Weather analysts are predicting 90mph winds near the eye and a strong storm surge along the coast. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) -
Having never before experienced the powerful forces of a hurricane, meteorologist Max Claypool of Memphis, Tenn. tries to see if the powerful winds blowing from the Hurricane Francine eye wall could lift him further in the air on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024, Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) -
Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) -
Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) -
Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Francine crashed ashore Wednesday in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City. Packing top sustained winds near 100 mph, the hurricane battered a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.
Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said the hurricane quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and sent tree limbs crashing down.
Power outages in Louisiana topped 261,000 hours after landfall, spread widely across southeast Louisiana. Blackouts affected the majority of homes and businesses in coastal parishes nearest where the storm came ashore as well as their inland neighbors, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
Preparing for Hurricane Francine
-
Rainwater accumulates around Nolan and Macie Melancon as they fill up sandbags for their home located a few miles away in Houma, La., as the region gets ready for the arrival of Hurricane Francine on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Chris Granger /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) -
Lindsey Ranney and her dog Fig fill the trunk of Ranney’s car with sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Francine from a pile of sand provided by Harrison County at the end of Courthouse Boulevard in Gulfport, Miss. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP) -
Melanie Galindo’s hair flies in the swirl of fast-moving air as the eye wall of Hurricane Francine crosses into the Houma area in Louisiana on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. (Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune via AP) -
Orleans Levee District Police patrol Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain as wind and rain pick up from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) -
Conrad Bach gets doused with lake water while looking at waves from the wind and rain from Hurricane Francine along Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton) -
A customer buys water at a mostly boarded up Birdies Food and Fuel, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Luling, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) -
Sparse traffic moves along Interstate 10, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, near Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) -
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:01 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Francine as it approaches landfall over Louisiana, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (NOAA via AP) -
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine’s arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP) -
Dulac residents, top left, sit on their front porch as they watch water rise around their elevated home as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) -
FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine’s arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP) -
A customer enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The National Hurricane Center urged residents to stay sheltered overnight as the weakening hurricane churned inland. The storm’s projected path included New Orleans, where forecasters said the storm’s eye could pass through.
The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, strengthening to a Category 2 storm with winds exceeding 96 mph in the hours before landfall.
Three hours after landfall, it barely remained a hurricane with top sustained winds down to 75 mph. Francine was moving northeast at a fast clip of 17 mph on a path toward New Orleans, about 50 miles away.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would fan out to parishes impacted by Francine. They have food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including for possible search-and-rescue operations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
