Louisiana – Hurricane Nate made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River as a Category 1 storm with winds of 85 miles per hour on Saturday evening, threatening parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with torrential rain and flooding.
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Nate, the fourth major storm to strike the United States in less than two months, killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf and bearing down on the U.S. South.
The hurricane warning for New Orleans had been changed to a tropical storm warning. A hurricane warning remained in effect for the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’re in the fight now. The storm is on us,” Landrieu told reporters at a briefing earlier Saturday afternoon, adding that conditions were expected to rapidly deteriorate.
Nate had earlier approached the mouth of the Mississippi River at 4 p.m. Central time, moving north-northwest at 23 mph (37 kph), the NHC said.