Louisiana
Francine path updates: Where will forecasted hurricane make landfall?
Francine to become hurricane before landfall
Tropical Storm Francine has quickly strengthened this afternoon. Francine’s future is expected to become a hurricane before landfall.
Editor’s note: Read Tuesday’s updates on Francine as the storm takes aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Tropical Storm Francine, which formed Monday, has taken a slow, meandering path across the Gulf. It’s now gathering speed and taking direct aim on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, with landfall expected there sometime on Wednesday.
“Francine is anticipated to be just offshore of the coasts of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas through this afternoon, and then move across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday,” the National Hurricane Center said in a midday Tuesday forecast. Towns closest to the location of expected landfall include Morgan City and Houma, Louisiana.
New Orleans should brace for major flooding rain, winds of up to 73 mph, the possibility of tornadoes and 3-5 feet of storm surge, the local weather service office said Tuesday. The city, infamously ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was just to the east of Francine’s worst impacts, according to Tuesday forecasts.
After landfall, the storm’s center is expected to move into Mississippi “on Wednesday night or Thursday.”
As the system approaches the central Gulf Coast and eventually pushes inland across Louisiana, an increased threat of life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and considerable flash flooding is anticipated, the hurricane center warned.
As Francine neared, authorities called for a mandatory evacuation of residents in three coastal communities, schools were shut and officials distributed sandbags.
Tropical Storm Francine tracker
What’s causing Francine to move north?
Other weather systems are shoving Francine around: An approaching trough of low pressure over Texas should cause Francine to turn northeast at a faster forward speed during the next 24-36 hours, “and this motion should bring the center to the Louisiana coast sometime Wednesday afternoon or evening,” the hurricane center said.
“After landfall, Francine should turn more northward between the trough and a mid-level ridge over the eastern United States.”
Louisiana no stranger to storms
The most recent hurricane to hit Louisiana was Ida in 2021, AccuWeather said. “Between 2019 and 2021, Louisiana had eight tropical storms or hurricane landfalls, including major hurricanes Laura and Ida,” noted Alyssa Glenny, AccuWeather meteorologist, in an online report.
Heavy rain and inland flood threat
Along with the threat from strong winds and storm surge comes the threat for heavy rainfall:
“Francine is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of considerable flash and urban flooding for far northeast Mexico into the far southern coast of Texas today and across much of Louisiana and Mississippi through Thursday,” the hurricane center said. Flash and urban flooding is probable across the Mid-South Wednesday night into Friday morning.
Rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches, with local amounts up to 12 inches are forecast across much of central and eastern Louisiana and Mississippi through Thursday night, the National Weather Service said.
Francine spaghetti models
Spaghetti model illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
Heading into this weekend’s series at Louisiana Tech, No. 12 Southern Miss was confident it could come into Ruston, La., and get a big road series win while also showing the proper amount of respect for its opponent. Louisiana Tech was also confident, but perhaps those hard feelings toward Southern Miss got in the way of it reaching its goals on Friday night.
“Coach (Lane) Burroughs, he doesn’t like Southern Miss,” Louisiana Tech freshman Casey McCoy said earlier this week before the series began. “We’re going to do everything we can to beat them. We want to sweep them.”
Well, the series has yet to be determined, but you can count out the possibility of a Louisiana Tech sweep, as Southern Miss went into “The Love Shack” and won the first game of the series, 8-3, behind a couple of big home runs and exceptional pitching down the stretch. Bulldogs head coach Lane Burroughs was ejected from the game in the fifth inning for arguing with the umpires.
The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start in Ruston, as lead-off man Ben Higdon hit a single to left field off of Louisiana Tech starting pitcher Declan Dahl in the top of the first inning. Dahl then gave up a two-run home run to Joey Urban on the next at-bat, giving Southern Miss an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Louisiana Tech tied things up at 2-2 after Casey McCoy hit a two-run bomb against Colby Allen. The Bulldogs then took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third with a single that scored a man from third.
Just like in Tuesday night’s beatdown of Alabama, Southern Miss got some big fireworks in the fourth inning. Senior second baseman Kyle Morrison hit what was the Golden Eagles’ second grand slam of the game in the fourth inning against the Crimson Tide, and he followed that by hitting his team’s second homer of the game against the Bulldogs on Friday night. It was a three-run shot to centerfield to give his team a 5-3 lead.
Southern Miss added three more insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning thanks to singles from Davis Gillespie and Seth Smith, and the Golden Eagles ended up taking the first game of the series, 8-3. USM’s experience in the batting lineup remains one of the team’s biggest strengths.
Southern Miss senior RHP Colby Allen, who is still adjusting to his new role as the Friday-night starter, was hoping to get more of an extended run in his third start of the season, but some early-inning trouble ended up forcing head coach Christian Ostrander to make a move in the top of the fifth inning. Allen ended the night with five strikeouts, six hits given up, and a total of 87 pitches through 4.2 innings. He was one out away from securing his first win of the season.
Senior LHP Kros Sivley (2-0) got the win on Friday after registering two strikeouts in 1.2 innings with only one hit and no runs given up. Junior RHP Josh Och, who has been outstanding so far this season, got the save, as he struck out the final five batters he faced to end the game.
Before the season started, some believed the Golden Eagles’ starting pitching might be stronger than their bullpen, but through nine games, the opposite has proven to be true. However, it’s a long season, and it wouldn’t surprise us if USM’s starting pitching starts to peak at the right time. We only got to see three arms from Southern Miss on Friday, so Coach Oz has a lot to choose from over the next two days.
According to Warren Nolan’s RPI rankings, Southern Miss currently ranks No. 1 after beating Louisiana Tech on Friday. USM’s in-state rivals, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, rank No. 2 and No. 41, respectively. The Golden Eagles will face both of them in Hattiesburg in the coming weeks, starting with Mississippi State on Tuesday night at Pete Taylor Park. Obviously, it’s way too early to pay too close attention to RPI rankings, but it’s always good to see a team performing well with a tough schedule.
Southern Miss will look to extend its winning streak to nine games on Saturday while also securing a series win over Louisiana Tech. First pitch at “The Love Shack” is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage throughout the weekend.
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New legislation in Baton Rouge would reclassify some illegal gaming-related offenses as racketeering law violations, elevating potential consequences.
Louisiana has already stepped up its enforcement of its gaming laws related to potential illegal gaming but a new bill in the state legislature would give prosecutors’ actions more teeth. The proposal would elevate certain crimes involving unlicensed gaming in the state to a racketeering charge with more severe penalties linked to convictions.
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Louisiana bill changes classification of gaming-related charges
Louisiana Rep. Bryan Fontenot has pre-filed HB 53, which could rewrite the state code as it pertains to unlicensed gaming sites. The legislation has been provisionally assigned to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, as the 2026 session does not begin until March 9.
Under the proposal, the state’s definition of racketeering would expand to include “gambling, gambling by computer, gambling on cockfights, gambling by electronic sweepstakes, unlawful wagering, and bribery of sports participants.” Under current statutes, racketeering convictions carry penalties of fines of “not more than one million dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor for not more than 50 years, or both.”
Additionally, racketeering convictions that result in sentences of fines of at least $10,000 revoke recipients’ eligibility for parole. The enactment of this bill as currently composed could have a significant impact on the operation of sweepstakes-based online casino sites for real money in Louisiana.
At the same time, many of the companies in that space have already ceased potentially infringing actions within Louisiana.
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Louisiana has already been off-limits for sweepstakes casinos
In 2025, Louisiana gaming regulators and law enforcement took multiple actions to restrict residents’ access to unlicensed platforms for playing casino games online. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill shared a public notice about the illegality of sweepstakes-based online gaming sites, in addition to issuing cease-and-desist orders to the companies affiliated with those sites. As a result, many of the operators of those sites geofenced Louisiana out of their service areas.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board supplemented that action with its additional cease-and-desist letters. Fontenot’s bill could add additional weight to these demands if it becomes law.
There is currently no legal framework for playing online casino games or redeeming casino bonus codes in Louisiana. While online sports wagering is legal in most of the state, officials in Baton Rouge have not yet tackled the issue of iGaming.
Even if voters in Louisiana someday do clear the way for the utilization of Fanatics Casino promo codes, that would involve licensed gaming and not affect the implementation of Fontenot’s bill. However, such deliberations do not seem imminent.
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If HB 53 becomes law, Louisiana could levy some of the toughest penalties for illegal gaming activity in the United States. Many potential targets of prosecution have already pulled out of the state.
Driving Louisiana Forward Program
Commerical Driver’s License (CDL) Training
In partnership with the Louisiana Workforce Commission and South Louisiana Community College, this program aims to provide African American males with financial assistance to obtain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training, strengthening the resilience and contributions of this key demographic and improving equitable access to workforce opportunities. This initiative aims to reduce high unemployment rates within this community but also focuses on ensuring participants come from rural and economically disadvantaged areas.
Earn your CDL Class A license with this comprehensive classroom and behind-the-wheel program to drive tractor[1]trailers, dump trucks, tow trucks, delivery trucks, tanker trucks, and flatbed trucks.
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