Before

After

Hurricane Laura

The hurricane, as of midday Tuesday, is 560 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas and is exhibiting maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as it moves northwest through the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters are projecting that Laura will intensify to a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday, with winds of around 115 mph capable of inflicting devastating damage. A National Hurricane Center advisory says "from Wednesday afternoon into Saturday, Laura is expected to produce rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches across portions of the west-central U.S. Gulf Coast from western Louisiana into east Texas, and northward into portions of the lower to middle Mississippi Valley, lower Ohio Valley, and Tennessee Valley.