>>> WELCOME BACK.
LET’S GET AN UPDATE ON THIS
CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU
REMEMBER THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE USING THE WORD UN
UNSURVIVABLE TO DESCRIBE A STORM
SURGE?
BILL, YOU’VE MADE THE POINT ALL
DAY, AND IT’S SO CORRECT.
THIS HAS CHOSEN, THIS STORM, ONE
OF THE MOST SPARSELY POPULATED
SECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST.
AND THAT’S GOOD.
AND MOST OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
IS SQUISHY.
IT’S ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
MARSHLAND.
THAT’S GOOD EXCEPT THAT IT’S
MOSTLY WATER, MEANING IT’S FULL
OF FUEL FOR A STORM THAT WILL BE
LOOKING FOR FUEL AS IT GOES ON
UP AND CHURNS OVER POPULATED
AREAS.
SO THAT’S BAD.
>> YUP.
THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.
THE STORM WILL HOLD TOGETHER ALL
THE WAY THROUGH NORTHERN
LOUISIANA WITH A GOOD DEAL OF
WIND DAMAGE, ALL THE WAY UP TO
SHREVEPORT.
BUT THE FIRST PART OF THE STORM
IS NOW OVER THE LITTLE TOWN OF
CAMERON IN CAMERON PARISH.
THAT’S THE BRIGHT RED, THIS IS
WHERE THE 150-MILE-PER-HOUR
WINDS NOW. SO, HOUSES, HOMES, BUSINESSES
SO, HOUSES, HOMES, BUSINESSES
ARE BEING DESTROYED.
IT’S ALMOST LIKE WHAT A STRONG
TORNADO WOULD DO.
AND WINDS ARE PICKING UP FURTHER
TO THE NORTH.
74 MILES PER HOUR IN LAKE
CHARLES.
EVEN AS PARFAR TO THE NORTHEAST JENNINGS, 52 MILES PER HOUR.
JENNINGS, 52 MILES PER HOUR.
AND BEAUMONT AND PORT ARTHUR, A
MILE SHIFT EAST OR WEST MAKES A
HUGE DIFFERENCE.
AND THE EXTREME WIND WARNING IS
UP.
WE’RE EXPECTING FROM AN EVENT
LIKE A HURRICANE, A CATEGORY 4
OR 5, EXPECT A PERIOD OF WINDS
THAT ARE LIFE-THREATENING.
AS FAR AS THE STORM SURGE, WE’RE
WATCHING THE TIDAL GAUGES, THE
WATER LEVEL IS COMING UP NOW.
WE EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN IN THE
NEXT TWO OR THREE HOURS.
YOU SEE TO THE RIGHT OF THERE,
IT’S WHERE WE’LL SEE THE HIGHEST
STORM TOTALS.
WE’RE WAITING TO SEE WHAT WILL
HAPPEN IN THE LAKE CHARLES AREA.
AND YOU HEAR STORM SURGE, THAT
KILLS THE MOST PEOPLE.
IT KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN THE
WINDS DO IN A HURRICANE.
THREE FEET OF STORM SURGE,
THAT’S CONSIDERED
LIFE-THREATENING.
SIX FEET, ON TOP OF THAT, WE
DON’T COUNT IT IN ADDITION TO
WAIVES
WAIVE WAVES.
THE WAVES ARE WHAT DESTROYS THE
HOUSES.
AND THE PEAK WIND GUSTS, 120,
130-MILE-PER-HOUR GUSTS TAKING
PLACE SHORTLY.
AND TOMORROW MORNING AT ABOUT
11:00 A.M., SHREVEPORT COULD
HAVE 60 TO 70 WIND GUSTS.
IT’S BEEN A DRY SUMMER