Francine strengthens into hurricane, Cat 1 to impact Louisiana: Light rain for North Carolina

Francine strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday evening. The hurricane is expected to make landfall Wednesday night along the Louisiana coast. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Francine has maximum-sustained winds of 75 mph and is 350 miles off the coast of Louisiana. It is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday. The National Weather Service has also issued hurricane warnings and storm surge warnings for parts of the Louisiana coast. Lots of heavy rain, storm surge and wind issues are expected. Francine formed Monday morning in the Gulf of Mexico as the sixth named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season. On average, that happens on Aug. 29. Francine is the first named storm in the Atlantic Basin since Ernesto dissipated on Aug. 20. The center of the storm is on track to move well to our west, but central North Carolina could see some remnant showers starting late Friday. Subscribe to WRAL:    / wral5   Download the WRAL App: https://www.wral.com/download-wral-ap... News Tips: Online - https://www.wral.com/report-it/ Email - [email protected] Follow WRAL: Facebook:   / wraltv   X:   / wral   IG:   / wral   About WRAL-TV: WRAL is your Raleigh, North Carolina news source. Check out our videos for the latest news in Raleigh, local sports, Raleigh weather, and more at https://WRAL.com #localnews #northcarolina