WASHINGTON - Hurricane Francine is barreling toward Louisiana and is expected to make landfall sometime Wednesday.
Officials are warning about the potential for deadly storm surge, destructive winds and widespread flooding as it comes ashore.
Francine reached Category 1 hurricane status Tuesday night after gaining strength from warm Gulf waters.
The National Hurricane Center says Francine might even reach Category 2 strength with winds of 96 to 110 mph before landfall sometime Wednesday afternoon or evening.
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Will Hurricane Francine impact DC this week?
Will the Washington, D.C. region be impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Francine?
Will Hurricane Francine impact Washington, D.C. this week?
Aside from residual cloud coverage, it’s unlikely that the Washington, D.C. region will be impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Francine, said FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda.
"The biggest question is if we'll see anything out of this system," Grenda said. "It doesn't look to be anything right now. Maybe some cloud coverage later this week into the weekend. Outside of that, we’re not going to get a whole lot of precipitation from that storm system specifically."
After making landfall in or near Louisiana, Francine is expected to quickly track northward through Mississippi, Tennessee, and through parts of the mid-west into the week and weekend.