Nate is now a Category 1 hurricane, as it picked up maximum sustained wind speed to 90 mph. Previously, Tropical Storm Nate has picked up strength on Friday, increasing maximum sustained winds speed to 65 mph, while moving northwest at 22 mph. Nate has already caused 22 deaths in Central America, and may be heading over to the United States this weekend. But before Nate reaches the states, it has been predicted to grow into a hurricane and hit the U.S. Gulf Coast as at least a Category 1 storm.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is preparing for the worst. He has already issued a “state of emergency” for the entire state of Louisiana. Edwards informed the public that 1,300 national guard personal are being mobilized and 15 are heading off to New Orleans to check on the pumping system.
“We do anticipate a direct hit in Louisiana,” Edwards said in a statement obtained by the AP. “The bottom line for people is: You need to be where you want to be and in the posture you want to be by dark on Saturday.”
A voluntary evacuation notice has been issued by officials in Grande Isle, a barrier island south of New Orleans.
Meanwhile, New Orleans officials definitely don’t want another Katrina on their hands. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has already ordered mandatory evacuations for Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine and Irish Bayou. Residents of these areas will need to evacuate by Saturday at 1 P.M. (local time).
“We remain focused on vulnerabilities in Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine and Irish Bayou because these areas are outside of the levee system, and because one of the greatest threats to this storm is not necessarily interior rain, but storm surge. It is a serious concern to us,” Landrieu said Friday. “The projections are that we could see six to nine feet of surge.”
But let’s see when exactly the storm is predicted to hit New Orleans…
Tropical Storm Nate New Orleans Path: When Will Nate Hit New Orleans, Louisiana?
National Hurricane Center
Before Nate reaches “The Big Easy,” he is expected to upgrade to at least a Category 1 hurricane. Forecasters predict that Nate will hit New Orleans around this Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
The National Hurricane Center said that Nate would make contact with the southeast tip of Louisiana at around 7 P.M. Saturday. This development can result in heavy rain, high tides, and strong winds.
On Thursday, New Orleans Mayor Landrieu said, “Residents who live inside the levee system should prepare to take shelter with essential supplies including food, water and medications.”
If Nate increases in strength, it would become the first hurricane to hit Louisiana since Issac hit in 2012 as a Category 1 storm.
“It will still be fairly strong when it makes landfall, but it will be a quicker moving storm than the last few we have had,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said. “It’s supposed to be in and out pretty quickly.”
Nate is expected to bring three to six inches of rain, with ten inches of rain hitting other areas from the central Gulf Coast north through Tennessee and the southern Appalachians through the weekend, potentially creating flash floods, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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