Hurricane Laura on track to turn north as it moves toward coast

By R. Hans Miller | News Editor
Posted 8/26/20

As Hurricane Laura continues to make its way landward toward the coast from the Gulf of Mexico, meteorologists are confident the storm’s track will curve from a westerly movement to a northern …

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Hurricane Laura on track to turn north as it moves toward coast

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As Hurricane Laura continues to make its way landward toward the coast from the Gulf of Mexico, meteorologists are confident the storm’s track will curve from a westerly movement to a northern track that heads towards the Holly Beach Louisiana area about 40 miles east of Port Arthur according to a briefing from the Harris County Office of Emergency Management and the Harris County Flood Control District.

“Locally, we are looking at really no storm surge issues since the (storm’s) track has continued off to our east,” said HCFCD Meteorologist Jeff Lindner.

As Laura approaches, Lindner said Harris county residents east of I-15 may see sustained winds of 4-0-45 mph, but west of I-45 those winds are expected to be lighter. Some portions of eastern Harris and other coastal counties have been placed under voluntary evacuation orders.

The City of Katy’s Office of Emergency Management strongly recommends residents avoid I-10 and other major roadways in the area that may be seeing evacuation traffic as those living along the coast move west to avoid the storm – however, no evacuation has been ordered for the Katy area.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a 30-40% chance of rain today and tomorrow.

Earlier in the week, concerns about the interactions between now-defunct Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura made the Laura’s trajectory a concern for Greater Houston, but Lindner said that has changed and now forecasters are confident that Laura will curve to the north and head inland.

“We are very confident now that (Hurricane Laura) will make landfall in the Sabine Pass or just east of Sabine Pass in Southwest Louisiana – maybe around Holly Beach, Louisiana,” Lindner said.

Lindner said that, in Texas, the storm will most heavily impact the “Golden Triangle” area of the state that includes the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange.

Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Francisco Sanchez said the concern for the county would be wind damage that may occur during the night and morning. The storm is expected to be finished in the Greater Houston area by late morning or midday Thursday, he said.

Both Lindner and Sanchez said area residents should be sheltered in place by 8 p.m. at the locations they have chosen to ride out the storm.

“For those of you not in an evacuation zone – and that was the vast majority of people in Harris County – the best thing that you can do tonight moving forward is by eight o’clock tonight – please – shelter in place where it is that you intend to ride out the storm,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said driving Wednesday night during the storm will be dangerous due to debris such as tree limbs and other items that may fall into the road and be difficult to see in time to avoid them.

Emergency management officials throughout the Katy area which includes portions of Fort Bend, Harris and Waller counties urge general caution as the storm’s edge makes its way through the Katy area.

Wind can also damage power lines and those who see a downed power line should call CenterPoint Energy at 713-207-2222 and should not approach the downed line. To report debris in the roadways in the city of Katy, residents can call 281-391-4848.

Sanchez said that those who have a homebound family member with special medical needs should dial 2-1-1 to register for assistance in the event an evacuation of that medically-sensitive family member becomes necessary.

Hurricane Laura, Tropical Storm Marco, Francisco Sanchez, Jeff Lindner, HCFCD, HCOEM