CNN
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Tropical Storm Francine is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday as it heads toward Louisiana. Some communities had already been evacuated and floodgates were closed in anticipation of the storm, which is expected to make landfall there on Wednesday.

Francine was about 400 miles from Cameron, Louisiana, on Tuesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph), just 9 mph (14 kph) short of a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Follow the storm: View the latest spaghetti models and other storm maps here.

The severe tropical storm battered parts of extreme southern Texas on Tuesday morning with several inches of rain and gusty winds. However, the storm will dissipate on Tuesday and head northeast through the Gulf of Mexico, where it will strengthen again after battling severe weather overnight.

Forecasters expect the storm to strengthen significantly in the record-warm Gulf of Mexico, becoming a hurricane as early as Tuesday afternoon and then a Category 2 hurricane by Wednesday afternoon.

The storm may encounter more unfavorable conditions that could limit its strength before it makes landfall, but that will not change its impact: flooding, strong winds and potentially life-threatening storm surge could cause flooded roads, extensive damage to homes and widespread power outages.

The worst impacts will likely be felt in southern Louisiana around the time the storm makes landfall, but the storm will be felt much sooner across a wider area of ​​the western Gulf Coast.

Rain and scattered thunderstorms will continue along parts of the Upper Texas and Louisiana coast until Francine’s rain bands arrive Wednesday night. Tropical storm force winds could arrive as early as Wednesday morning.

The winds of a storm may determine its official strength, but it is the water that is most likely to be deadly. Francine is no different.

Francine will push several feet of the Gulf of Mexico onto normally dry areas along the western Gulf Coast in what is called storm surge. Storm surge watches and warnings extend along the coast from extreme northeast Texas to the Mississippi-Alabama border. The surge threat here is the reason behind several evacuation orders along the Louisiana and Gulf Coasts.

Water levels will rise the most as Francine approaches potential landfall on the central Louisiana coast, where water levels could reach 10 feet (3 meters) above normal.

Flooding from heavy rains also poses a significant threat. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the Gulf Coast – some areas expected to be inundated by Francine were drenched by a non-tropical system last week, so it won’t take as much rain to cause flash flooding.

The storm’s outer rain bands will reach the western Gulf Coast Tuesday evening, but the most severe conditions will persist late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

The storm is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain to the coast from northeastern Mexico to southern Mississippi, with some areas in southeastern Louisiana seeing as much as 12 inches.

The storm is expected to weaken quickly as it moves inland on Wednesday, but rain is expected to continue across parts of the lower and middle Mississippi Valley for the rest of the week.

Louisiana’s governor will declare a statewide emergency in advance of Francine’s arrival. Gov. Jeff Landry said Monday he has already asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare to help.

Evacuation orders were extended along the state’s coast on Tuesday.

Mandatory and voluntary evacuations were set to go into effect Tuesday afternoon in parts of Lafourche Parish, the parish council said. Mandatory evacuations were also in effect for Zone 1 in Terrebonne Parish, the parish council said.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Monday and expanded to all of Cameron Parish in Louisiana on Tuesday, according to an official’s social media. Both mandatory and voluntary evacuations were ordered farther east in the Jefferson Parish town of Grand Isle, which was decimated by Category 4 storm Ida in 2021.

Some parishes, including St. Mary and Terrebonne, began closing floodgates and distributing sandbags Monday. Terrebonne Parish also declared a state of emergency, according to a news release.

On Wednesday and Thursday, schools will be closed in several parishes in Louisiana, including Jefferson, Terrebonne and Orleans, which is part of New Orleans.

In Mississippi, residents of the town of Pass Christian have voluntarily evacuated.