Louisiana
Louisiana Braces for Storm Expected to Hit as Hurricane
Tropical Storm Francine strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was forecast to make landfall as a hurricane Wednesday night in Louisiana, where evacuation orders were quickly issued in some coastal communities and residents began filling sandbags in preparation for heavy rains and widespread flooding. Francine, the sixth named storm of the hurricane season, was expected to become a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday morning, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm is already being felt in Mexico, where rains closed schools as the storm gathered strength, the AP reports.
Forecasters said the storm is expected to hit Louisiana’s coast as a Category 2 hurricane, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Officials warn that flooding in the area is likely to begin Tuesday afternoon and persist through Thursday.
- “We’re going to have a very dangerous situation developing by the time we get into Wednesday for portions of the north-central Gulf Coast, primarily along the coast of Louisiana, where we’re going to see the potential for life-threatening storm surge inundation and hurricane-force winds,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.
- A storm surge warning has been issued from east of Galveston, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. A hurricane warning has been issued for the Louisiana coast from Sabine Pass to Morgan City.
- The storm surge pushed by Francine could reach as much as 10 feet along a stretch of Louisiana coastline from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. And if the current track holds, the storm could blow northward up the Mississippi River, into the Illinois area by Saturday. “Francine is expected to bring multiple days of heavy rainfall, considerable flash flooding risk,” Brennan said.
- Louisiana officials urged residents to immediately prepare for the storm while “conditions still allow” for it, Mike Steele, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told the AP. “We always talk about how anytime something gets into the Gulf, things can change quickly, and this is a perfect example of that,” Steele said.
- Francine is taking aim at a stretch of coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2020, followed a year later by Hurricane Ida.
(More hurricane stories.)
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana will receive $18.9 million in federal grants for hurricane recovery, Sen. John Kennedy announced Thursday (May 14).
Funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will support disaster recovery efforts and repairs in communities impacted by Hurricanes Ida and Francine.
Kennedy said the funding will support Lafourche, Jefferson and Terrebonne parishes, as well as the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
The grants include $8.8 million to the Greater Lafourche Port Commission for permanent repairs from Hurricane Ida.
Jefferson Parish will receive $5.3 million for management costs from Hurricane Ida.
Terrebonne Parish will receive $2.6 million for debris removal operations from Hurricane Francine.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development will receive $2.2 million for debris removal operations from Hurricane Francine.
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GOP-led states sending hundreds of additional National Guard troops to DC
Three GOP governors have pledged to send hundreds more National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to aid Trump’s federalization of the city.
Straight Arrow News
Louisiana National Guard soldiers have returned to Washington, D.C., on a second deployment as part of President Trump’s continued crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington nine months ago to trigger deployments of states’ National Guard troops to the capital.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry first sent a contingent of Louisiana soldiers to Washington in August 2025. Lt. Col. Noel Collins told USA Today Network on May 13 that all of those soldiers returned to Louisiana by the end of December.
Landry’s latest deployment of Louisiana soldiers includes about 125 who began assisting other soldiers and local police May 12.
Louisiana’s soldiers won’t make arrests, but they will patrol high-traffic areas while playing a supporting role for the D.C. National Guard and local police.
The White House has said its capital crime task force has made more than 12,000 arrests since August and seized thousands of illegal guns.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A new report shows Louisiana students are making some of the biggest gains in the country, with state education leaders celebrating the progress.
The newest national report card now ranks Louisiana 32nd in the nation, a jump from 49th in 2019.
“Louisiana is no longer about Louisiana simply believes, but for K-12 education, Louisiana achieves,” said state Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley.
The jump comes mainly from improved reading and math scores, making Louisiana the only state that has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Gov. Jeff Landry said the achievement comes at an opportune time for the generation to capitalize on economic developments coming to the state.
“These young men and women are going to get an opportunity we have never had. These kids get to grow up in a new Louisiana at a time when they are getting the education they need,” Landry said.
Brumley said the focus is now on attendance, more tutoring, higher teacher pay, and job readiness.
“Tutoring for every kid to get a little extra help if they need it; differentiated pay so we can target pay in a very precise way to those teachers doing great work for kids; and in the elevation in career and technical education,” Brumley said.
While leaders are celebrating, Brumley said the real work is keeping that momentum.
“Louisiana doesn’t have to be last. Indeed, we can be number one. We will continue to see great results,” Brumley said.
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