At a Glance

Rainfall from Laura will spread as far east as the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and mid-Atlantic by this weekend.Strong winds could cause tree damage and scattered power outages as far north as ArkansasLaura might produce isolated tornadoes along its path into the weekend.

Hurricane Laura will now weaken after making landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, but its rain, some wind, and even potential tornadoes are expected to spread inland north and east as the storm moves inland.

Here's an overview of what to expect late this week.

Heavy Rainfall

The most widespread inland impact from Laura will be rainfall.

Laura's heaviest rain and highest flash flood potential will spread from where it makes landfall northward across parts of eastern Texas, Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Missouri.

The weakening system could then produce at least locally heavy rain and pockets of flash flooding as far east as the Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic from Friday through Saturday night. The good news is that rainfall totals won't be extreme in these areas since Laura should move steadily eastward ahead of a frontal system approaching from the north.

You can see the area of expected rainfall from Laura near the outlined white projected path and timing for the storm in the map below.

Rainfall Forecast Through Saturday

(Laura will be steered east by a frontal system. The white outline is the projected path for Laura overlayed on the latest rainfall forecast.)

Strong Winds

Laura's fast northward movement through western Louisiana means there could be strong wind gusts well inland over parts of the South through Thursday night.

Probability of Tropical-Storm-Force-Winds

(The contours above show the chance of tropical-storm-force winds (at least 39 mph), according to the latest forecast by the National Hurricane Center.)

Tree damage and scattered power outages could occur as far north as northeast Texas, northern Louisiana, southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas and western Tennessee.

Power Outage Potential

A burst of gusty winds from Laura might also spread eastward through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and the mid-Atlantic as it tracks through those areas Friday into Saturday.

Tornadoes

Landfalling tropical cyclones sometimes produce tornadoes well inland along their track

The area with the greatest chance of seeing a few tornadoes from Laura through Thursday is from southern Louisiana through eastern Arkansas.

Tornado Potential Thursday

(Shaded on the map above is the likelihood of severe thunderstorms (tornado potential in this case), according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Note that not all categories apply for the severe weather risk on a particular day.)

Portions of Louisiana, western Mississippi and Arkansas could see a few tornadoes on Thursday.

Laura might continue to produce a few tornadoes on Friday from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

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