Laura weakens inland to a tropical depression
Buildings and homes are damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, near Lake Charles, La.[David J. Phillip/Associated Press]
The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Laura to a tropical depression as the storm system crosses Arkansas.
Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 35 mph (55 kph) late Thursday, according to the hurricane center’s 10 p.m. CDT update. Forecasters said Laura was centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north-northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Read KSTP’s full hurricane coverage
Laura smashed across the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday. The system maintained hurricane strength for about 11 hours before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
The Miami-based center said the storm system is expected to continue moving over Arkansas in the night and then on into the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday before reaching the mid-Atlantic States on Saturday. It says the system will dump heavy rains in spots, raising the risk of flash floods.