Our live coverage has ended, but you can follow the storm’s path here.
Interaction with the Yucatan Peninsula has weakened Hurricane Delta.
The storm is now a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The center of the storm is now over the southern Gulf of Mexico and strengthening is expected over the next 36 hours.
The official forecast from the NHC is for Delta to regain major hurricane strength with winds of 115 mph by Thursday night.
The storm is still expected to hit Louisiana Friday afternoon.
Evacuation orders and curfews have been issued for several areas near the Louisiana coast in advance of Hurricane Delta hitting sometime later this week.
A voluntary evacuation order has been issued for Lafayette Parish by Mayor-President Josh Guillory. Residents are being “encouraged” to evacuate, a press release from Guillory’s office said.
Iberia Parish has issued a voluntary evacuation order for all residents of the parish and is “strongly encouraging” people to evacuate.
A mandatory evacuation has been issued in Vermilion Parish for all residents in low-lying areas and anyone who lives in a trailer. Voluntary evacuations are in place for all areas below LA-14, and mayors of towns in those areas are encouraging residents to evacuate.
Gueydan Mayor Jude Reese posted a letter on social media to residents, saying the town is “in the worst possible position to be in, I say this not to scare anyone or instill fear in you but simply to get you to realize how serious this situation can be if it stays on the projected path!” He encouraged all residents to consider evacuating as soon as possible.
The town of Grand Isle has issued a mandatory evacuation order, which goes into effect at 6 a.m. local time Thursday. Mayor David Camardelle issued a curfew that goes into effect at 8 p.m. local time Thursday. No one will be allowed out of their homes during the curfew, Camardelle said in a statement.
New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt has issued a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time on Thursday and Friday.
President Trump — who is working from the Oval Office as he continues to recover from coronavirus — just tweeted that he has been briefed on Hurricane Delta ahead of its landfall on the US later this week.
He urged residents to “please be prepared, be careful, and be safe.”
With three months to go in the year, 2020 has tied with 2011 and 2017 for the most billion-dollar events in the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday.
As of Oct. 7, there have been 16 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. Three of these were hurricanes: Laura, Sally and Isaisis.
“Hurricanes that make landfall in the US, by nature of their strong sustained winds and powerful gusts, along with the coastal storm surge and inland flash flood threat, almost always cause a billion dollars in damage (and often many, many billion),” CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller says.
Two other years — 2011 and 2017 — saw 16 billion-dollar events.
But Hurricane Delta could possibly cause enough damage to add one more to the list, catapulting 2020 to top of the list for the most billion-dollar disasters in a single year.
“Since 2020 looks to be the most hurricane landfalls the US has seen since 2005, it is no surprise we are on the cusp of setting a record for billion-dollar weather disasters,” Miller says.
The average is just over 6 billion-dollar events in a year. However, this is the sixth consecutive year in which 10 or more billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events have impacted the United States.
Hurricane Delta remains a Category 2 storm as it continues on its path toward the US Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. ET advisory.
Delta is still expected to strengthen into a major hurricane before its expected landfall on the Louisiana coast on Friday.
Parts of Texas and Louisiana remain under a hurricane watch, according to the latest advisory.
Here’s a look at the storm’s projected path:
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has requested a pre-landfall Federal Declaration of Emergency in a letter to President Trump ahead of Hurricane Delta, which is forecast to make landfall along the coast on Friday, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The pre-landfall declaration comes just one day after Edwards declared a state of emergency for Hurricane Delta, which will allow the state to begin its preparations and to assist local governments in their response.
The governor is urging all Louisianans to use today to prepare and heed the direction of their local leaders when it comes to evacuations.
As Hurricane Delta approaches the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans city officials are urging all residents to come up with a storm plan ahead of Delta’s arrival.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city of New Orleans is currently outside of the cone — but they are still preparing for significant impact.
Cantrell warned residents that Delta could bring damaging winds, storm surges and possible tornadoes. The mayor is asking residents to be vigilant and have a plan prepared.
Collin Arnold, Director of Homeland Security for the City of New Orleans, says up to 4 to 6 feet of storm surge is expected.
Arnold said residents should start using this time to think about voluntary evacuations as flooding could start as early as Thursday.
“We stand ready and are aligned with our federal, state and local partners” Cantrell said.
Hurricane Delta is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane before it makes landfall along the US Gulf Coast later this week.
When it hits the US, Delta will become the 10th named storm to make landfall in the US this season, setting the record for the most in one year.
It will be the fifth hurricane to make landfall, joining Hanna, Isaias, Laura and Sally.
This will be the most storms the US has seen since 2005.
Hurricane Delta prompted 39,290 people in the Yucatán Peninsula to evacuate before the hurricane made landfall early Wednesday morning, Luis Ortega, the Head of the National Coordination for Civil Protection Prevention Unit, said in a press conference Wednesday.
He added that included tourists and local residents.
According to Ortega, 45 shelters in Quintana Roo hosted 1,901 people, and 29 shelters in the Yucatan hosted 810 people.
Ortega said that 70% of the island of Cozumel is currently without electricity.
While Louisiana braces for its fourth potential hurricane landfall this season, the southwest part of the state is still recovering from Hurricane Laura — which made landfall less than 6 weeks ago.
While Hurricane Delta has a slightly different forecast path than Laura’s actual path, both could have similar impacts.
Hurricane Laura entered the Gulf of Mexico much farther east, after crossing Cuba. Hurricane Delta is entering the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Yucatan peninsula.
Hurricane Laura reached Category 4 status in the Gulf of Mexico, where Delta is expected to remain a Category 3 — but their landfall locations will be very close.
This means there could potentially be a second major hurricane hitting the same general area in less than two months of each other.
Take a look:
More on this: The 11 a.m. ET forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows a predicted landfall just over 30 miles east of where Laura made landfall.
It is still too early to know the exact landfall location but it isn’t what those impacted by Hurricane Laura want to see.
In fact, many residents are still picking up the pieces after Hurricane Laura. There are still disaster relief areas that are assisting people, which are now closing until Hurricane Delta passes by.
US Coast Guard New Orleans Sector says they are working with state, local and maritime industry partners in preparation for Hurricane Delta.
Captain Will Watson, Commander with the Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, said he recognizes this has been an extremely busy season and as a result resources have already been pre-staged to respond to these storms.
Watson says one thing that keeps him up at night is the fact that people won’t heed the warnings issued by their local officials.
“These storms can be unpredictable and dangerous, and we just want to make sure everyone is safe.” Watson said.
Watson is specifically asking the boating public to stay off the water and secure their boats and gear ahead of the storm.
A hurricane watch has been issued for the northern Gulf Coast of the US, from High Island, Texas, eastward to Grand Isle, Louisiana.
There are so far no reports of serious injury or deaths after Hurricane Delta made landfall in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula Wednesday morning as a strong Category 2 storm, according to the governor of Quintana Roo state.
Quintana Roo is a state on the eastern Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, home to multiple tourism hotspots.
Gov. Carlos Joaquín González did say that there were widespread reports of power outages in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. He also said there were lots of fallen trees and electricity poles as well as reports of flooding in Cozumel.
The governor said clean up and reconstruction efforts were being launched. Authorities are already working to clear fallen trees from roadways, he added.
González also said a clearer picture of the full impact of Hurricane Delta would be known in the next few hours. He asked residents to stay home and indoors for now, saying it wasn’t yet assured that the state was out of danger.
Describing the hurricane, the governor said, “We hope it leaves soon. This is the one kind of visitor that we don’t like and hopefully it will leave soon.”
Hurricane Delta remains a Category 2 storm as it continues to head toward the US Gulf Coast.
Parts of Texas and Louisiana are now under a hurricane watch, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. advisory.
“A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the northern Gulf coast from High Island, Texas, eastward to Grand Isle, Louisiana,” the advisory said.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch has been issues for parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Here’s a look at the watches:
See the latest forecast on Hurricane Delta:
Landfall locations are always difficult to pinpoint. So much goes into forecasting where landfall will be. It’s always hard to know precisely where — especially several days away.
Steering currents in the Gulf of Mexico, large-scale weather features around Hurricane Delta and the storm’s size and organization will all play a role in the direction. Any tiny wobbles a storm will make on its journey to the coast could change its trajectory.
Forecast computer models don’t precisely agree right now.
The most well-known computer models — the European and American models — have differences in where landfall will be.
The American model:
The American model has the storm making a turn to the north a little sooner, which brings the landfall location farther east, into West and Central Louisiana. It also shows the storm being much bigger and stronger than the European model.
“The GFS (American Model) and UKMET (UK Met Office computer model), on the other hand, are showing a deeper cyclone, which would feel stronger upper-level winds, and move Delta faster to the coast,” the National Hurricane Center.
The European model:
The European model has the storm veering more west, making landfall closer to the Texas border. It also shows the storm to be a little more ragged and smaller.
The European model is also later on landfall time. It shows a landfall around 8 p.m. ET on Friday — and the American model shows a landfall 6 hours sooner.
Once the storm is fully back in the Gulf of Mexico, more certainty will emerge — however, it’s not uncommon to have small changes in landfall location a day or two before landfall.
Louisiana State University’s home football game against Missouri scheduled for Saturday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been moved to Columbia, Missouri, due to Hurricane Delta, the school announced Wednesday.
In a statement, Sankey continued: “It was critical to relocate the game to an SEC campus where SEC COVID-19 management protocols are in place and readily applied. I appreciate the cooperation of the schools who are working closely to make the appropriate operational adjustments in order to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes while accommodating this change in the schedule.”
The game will kick off at noon ET.
As Hurricane Delta made landfall on the Yucatan peninsula, it was powerful, but a very small storm. Hurricane-force winds extended out only around 30 miles from the center.
However, as Hurricane Delta moves into the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to strengthen again and grow in size.
“Global models depict a significant increase in the size of delta’s wind field while it is over the Gulf of Mexico, which increases the spatial extent of the storm surge and wind threats for the Northern Gulf Coast,” the National Hurricane Center has noted this in their forecast discussions.
Here’s what that means for the US: If the storm is more massive, the wind field of the storm becomes more far-reaching. This will cause more areas to be impacted by dangerous winds, and more areas will receive life-threatening storm surge from the storm.
Louisiana and Mississippi are particularly vulnerable to a higher surge because of the shallow ocean floor off the coast. This will cause storm surge to gradually build and then push far inland.
“So regardless of Delta’s final landfall intensity, the projected large size of the hurricane is likely to result in a significant storm surge and wind event for portions of the northern Gulf Coast,” the National Hurricane Center says.
The National Weather Service New Orleans urged Gulf Coast residents to begin hurricane prep now.
While Hurricane Delta is currently moving across Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula this morning, the storm is expected to re-emerge in the Gulf of Mexico later today before heading toward the Louisiana coast later this week.
“Now is the time to put your hurricane plans into action as #Delta is still expected to impact the area later this week,” the service tweeted.
Hurricane Delta is the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and despite a very active season already, it is setting itself apart from the others in big ways.
Let’s start at the beginning.
While “Delta” has been used once before, this is the earliest the Greek name has ever been used in a calendar year – more than a month sooner than on November 15, 2005. (And the Greek alphabet has only been tapped twice to name storms once a year’s entire list is used up.)
Delta also grew from a tropical depression to a Category 4 hurricane in about 30 hours, with maximum sustained winds speeding up 85 mph in 24 hours from Monday to Tuesday. That’s the quickest increase in sustained wind speed in one day by a storm this year. (“Rapid intensification” is defined as an increase in top winds by 35 mph in 24 hours, and Delta more than doubled that.)
Hurricane Delta made landfall Wednesday morning roughly halfway between the Mexican resort towns of Cancun and Playa del Carmen in the town of Puerto Morelos, according to the US National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to hit the US Gulf Coast later this week.
Delta currently has winds of 105 mph, making it a strong Category 2 storm. The hurricane will quickly make its way over the Yucatan Peninsula this morning and re-emerge in the Gulf of Mexico later today.
Once back over open water, Delta will likely strengthen back into a major hurricane before turning north toward the Louisiana coast. Hurricane watches and storm surge watches will likely be issued later Wednesday along the US Gulf Coast.
The latest forecast on Hurricane Delta:
Hurricane Delta remains a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. ET advisory.
“Delta bringing a life-threatening storm surge and strong winds to northeastern portions of the Yucatan Peninsula,” the center wrote.
The storm is currently about 35 miles west of Cancun, Mexico.
Here’s a look at the latest forecasted path of the storm:
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