Hurricane Laura weakened to a Category 2 storm hours after barreling ashore along the Texas-Louisiana border, but it continued to threaten what forecasters described as lethal flooding and widespread wind damage. Laura made landfall overnight as a storm of historic proportions, with wind speeds of 150 miles an hour. But by early Thursday morning, the winds had weakened to 110 miles an hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. The eye was about 45 miles northwest of Lake Charles, La., and moving northward at a speed of about 15 miles an hour, the center said. Forecasters said the storm surge could reach as far as 40 miles inland, backing up rivers and producing dangerous flooding.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 26, 2020 22:41 UTC