An “unsurvivable” storm has suddenly grown from a category 1 into a monster hurricane and is now threatening the US coast. Its top winds reached 97 kilometers per hour. US President Donald Trump told those potentially affected by the storm to "listen to local officials" as the storm was "very dangerous and rapidly intensifying". The storm is expected to bring up to 15 inches of rain. “Hurricane Laura is a very dangerous and rapidly intensifying hurricane,” Mr Trump tweeted. ©2020 FOX News Network, LLC. Laura is expected to reach landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border between midnight and 02:00 local time on Thursday (07:00 GMT). A storm system with a well-defined center with winds between 39 and 73 miles per hour is what is known as a tropical storm, according to the National Weather Service. Critical Fire Weather Conditions for California and the Plains; Wet and Stormy Across the East. A tropical storm warning is in effect along much of the western Gulf Coast, from Port Aransas, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. Although the winds did not have the devastating power of the deadly Hurricane Laura, which struck last month, they still ripped boats from moorings and sent one barge careering into the under-construction Bay Bridge. If it maintains those speeds it would be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the US south coast. Storm surges could penetrate up to 48km/h inland along parts of the coasts, and peak surge coupled with high tide could see water as high as 6m above normal levels. This section is about Living in UAE and essential information you cannot live without. Critical fire weather conditions are likely to persist over parts of California and the Plains through Thursday. Anna Kendrick stars in brand-new Love Life, Media playback is unsupported on your device, More than half a million people have been told to get out of the path of Hurricane Laura, A man boards up a Louisiana store as the state braces itself for Hurricane Laura, Laura has brought rough seas and high winds to the Caribbean, including here in Havana, Cuba, Thousands told to evacuate Gulf Coast as Hurricane Laura nears, Storms Marco and Laura plough through Caribbean, killing 12, Hurricanes: A guide to the world's deadliest storms. Full article The rocky path of romance is never easy... Full article Daily news briefing direct to your inbox. All rights reserved. In addition to Sally, there are four other tropical cyclones - Paulette, Rene, Teddy and Vicky - swirling in the Atlantic Ocean basin. Heavy rains have also battered parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the US territory of Puerto Rico. Tropical Storm Beta made landfall on the upper Texas coast late Monday night, with heavy rains projected to continue over portions of the state's middle and upper coast. A 2018 study in Nature magazine found that the speed at which hurricanes and tropical storms move over an area had decreased by 10% between 1949 and 2016, a drop that was linked to an increase in total rainfall. In Jamaica, there were reports of landslides and flooded roads. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Heavy rain from what was once Tropical Storm Beta is still drenching parts of the Southeast Friday. We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. Legal Statement. news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site, Microsoft Surface Laptop Go pre-order opens for $999 laptop, Daylight saving starts on Sunday but only in some states, Qld police prepare for La Nina, COVID-19 response. The latest breaking news, comment and features from The Independent. Have you been affected by Hurricane Sally? The center of Teddy is forecast to pass east of Bermuda late Sunday into Monday as a Category 2 hurricane, bringing tropical storm conditions by Sunday night. In Cuba, it caused material damage but no deaths. If only one more storm is officially named - Wilfred has already been chosen - meteorologists will run out of preselected names for the rest of the year and so will begin naming new storms after the Greek alphabet. Hurricane Katrina - which devastated New Orleans in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people - was a category five storm before weakening to a category three when made landfall in the US. Laura, on the other hand, has strengthened rapidly from a category three, gaining 70% in power in just 24 hours, to a category four, maximum sustained winds of 140mph (220km/h). Another evacuee in Lake Charles, Patricia Como, said her sister, her brother, cousins and other family members had stayed behind but she was “not going to take a chance”. The National Weather Service has also issued a tornado watch for parts of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Both on your website and other media. Tropical Storm Sally has left more than half a million Americans without power as its torrential rains and storm surges lashed the US Gulf coast. slow-moving storms are especially dangerous. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The pier at Gulf State Park in Alabama suffered significant damage. Live Americas. Pensacola, in Florida, was badly hit, with a loose barge bringing down part of the Bay Bridge. Nationwide News Pty Limited Copyright © 2020. Tropical Storm Beta may make landfall in Texas next week: Latest forecast, Trump adviser Hope Hicks tests positive for COVID, president to quarantine. A storm surge of 2 to 4 feet is possible along much of the Texas coastline and the western Louisiana coast during high tide. Anna Kendrick stars in brand-new Love Life, Media playback is unsupported on your device, The wind ripped the roof off this house in Perdido Key, Florida, One of the barges that broke free in Pensacola, Florida, Overturned vehicle in Mobile, Alabama. Extreme heat in West impacting 36 million fuels wildfire threat, tropical activity brews in Caribbean, Hurricane center monitoring tropical wave in Caribbean, could develop into 'Gamma', Tropical Storm Beta’s remnants still drenching the US, Texas city releases video of 'floating ant piles' amid flooding caused by Beta, Live Updates: Beta weakens into a post-tropical cyclone, threat of flooding remains, Hurricane Paulette comes back as a 'zombie' tropical storm 'because 2020', Beta floods Houston as over 500K gallons of wastewater spill, body of missing fisherman found, Live Updates: Tropical Storm Beta makes landfall in Texas, Houston hit with flooding, Tropical Storm Beta bringing 'excessive' rainfall to Houston area, dangerous storm surge after Texas landfall, Tropical Storm Beta makes landfall on Texas coast, Joe Biden speaks at Archdiocese of New York's Al Smith Dinner, President Trump speaks at Archdiocese of New York's Al Smith Dinner, Convicted killer of NYPD officers scheduled for parole this month, Suspect in ambush of LA deputies charged with attempted murder, Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett on reopening schools amid pandemic. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said many areas around Mobile were seeing historic flood levels and urged people to heed warnings. Jimmy Ray was among those heeding evacuation orders in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In Cuba, authorities have evacuated at least 160,000 people from several coastal regions, while thousands have been evacuated in the Dominican Republic. The reality is far from it. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In an Atlantic hurricane season that's broken records, a tropical system managed to come back to life a week after hitting Bermuda. The storm surge was the third worst ever to hit the city. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon. Like Sally -- which made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in Alabama on Wednesday -- Beta could prove how slow-moving storms are especially dangerous. The rocky path of romance is never easy... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54183485, Hurricanes: A guide to the world's deadliest storms, The busy hurricane season about to 'go Greek', Climate row as Trump visits fire-hit US West Coast. The NHC says a Category 2 storm's "extremely dangerous winds" usually cause damage to homes and shallowly rooted trees. Alabama, Florida and Mississippi all declared states of emergency ahead of the storm. This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, and provided by NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Beta in the Gulf of Mexico. Governor Abbott urged people in the path of the storm to "take advantage of these final few hours to evacuate". Market data provided by Factset. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Market data provided by Factset. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A tropical storm watch is in effect along the remainder of the Texas coast as well as the south central Louisiana coast. Hurricane Sally: Deadly storm leaves 550,000 without power in US … Even without a landfall, the slow storm will bring heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and storm surge to the western Gulf Coast in the coming days. Half a million residents have been told to leave the area. MORE: Why slow-moving hurricanes like Sally are especially dangerous. One person died and another was missing in the town of Orange Beach, Alabama, the mayor said without giving further details. Credit: Brennan Matherne via Storyful, Thousands of people are being evacuated. “But we do tell them if they stay, they may not have any emergency services available to them.”. Picture: AFPSource:AFP. They were certainly high enough to topple high-sided vehicles. "To think that there would be a wall of water over two storeys high coming on shore is very difficult for most to conceive, but that is what is going to happen," said National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott. “My administration remains fully engaged with state and local emergency managers.”. There remains "a danger of life-threatening inundation" on the Florida-Alabama border, the NHC said. Police there told people not to go out to look at the damage, saying: "It's slowing our progress down. Tropical Storm Sally has left more than half a million Americans without power as its torrential rains and storm surges lashed the US Gulf coast. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our, Dear Reader, please register to read gulfnews.com, Password should have minimum 7 characters with at least one letter and number, Bloomberg and compiled by Karishma Nandkeolyar, Bollywood reacts to Babri Masjid demolition ruling, Photos: New products, services rolled out by Apple, UAE: Cloudy weather, it might rain in these areas, Social Enterprise Thankyou launches bold Initiative, Trump adviser Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus, EU leaders win agreement for sanctions on Belarus, Saudi Arabia: Property deals get full VAT exemption. What is the situation like where you are? "The power of Hurricane Laura is unprecedented, and Texans must take action now to get out of harm's way and protect themselves," he said. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Hurricane Laura is expected to cause an "unsurvivable" storm surge, extreme winds and floods as it hits the US, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says. 3:00 PM MDT Tue Sep 29 Location: 13.6°N 109.5°W Moving: W at 12 mph Min pressure: 1005 mb Max sustained: 40 mph Public Advisory #3 300 PM MDT: Forecast Advisory #3 2100 UTC: Forecast Discussion “The power of Hurricane Laura is unprecedented, and Texans must take action now to get out of harm’s way and protect themselves,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said. Rainfall is being measured in feet rather than inches in some places, but 18in (45cm) has been recorded across many areas. "Hurricane force winds and widespread damaging wind gusts will also spread well inland into portions of eastern Texas and western Louisiana early Thursday," the NHC added. Many roads there were hit by falling trees, Gulf Shores in Alabama hosted Sally's landfall and its torrential rain, Hurricane Laura's winds batter Louisiana, killing six, US West Coast fires: I don't think science knows about climate, says Trump.