Hurricane Delta is approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast just below Category 4 strength and is expected to bring severe conditions and life-threatening storm surge to southwest Louisiana later Friday, forecasters said.
Oct.9 (UPI) — Hurricane Delta is approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast just below Category 4 strength and is expected to bring severe conditions and life-threatening storm surge to southwest Louisiana later Friday, forecasters said. In its 4 a.m. CDT update, the National Hurricane Center said the hurricane was located 200 miles south of Cameron, La., and had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. It was moving north-northwest at 12 mph. The storm would reach Category 4 strength with sustained winds of 130 mph. Delta strengthened into a Category 3 storm later on Thursday, and had been a Category 1 storm on Wednesday. « On the forecast track, the center of Delta will move inland within the hurricane warning area this evening, » the NHC said in its advisory. « Slow weakening is expected to begin as Delta approaches the northern Gulf coast later today, with rapid weakening expected after the center moves inland.
