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Hurricane Laura - Estimated Impacts Advisory 23, 25 August 2020 1000 CDT

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NWS Summary: At 1000 AM CDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Laura was located near latitude 23.7 North, longitude 87.0 West. Laura is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h), and this general motion should continue today. A turn toward the northwest is forecast by Wednesday, and a northwestward to north-northwestward motion should continue through Wednesday night. On the forecast track, the center of Laura will move across the southeastern Gulf of Mexico today. Laura is then forecast to move over the central and northwestern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Wednesday, approach the Upper Texas and Southwest Louisiana coasts on Wednesday night and move inland near those area on Thursday. Reports from NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts. Significant strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours, and Laura is expected to be a major hurricane at landfall. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). The estimated minimum central pressure based on the Hurricane Hunter aircraft data is 990 mb (29.24 inches).