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Laura Now Forecast To Be A Catastrophic Category 4 Hurricane

NOAA / NHC

Forecasters say Hurricane Laura is rapidly intensifying and will become a “catastrophic” Category 4 hurricane before landfall. It's churning toward Texas and Louisiana, gathering wind and water that swirls over much of the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center says Laura's top sustained winds are near 110 mph with higher gusts.

Senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart says some people are going to wake up Thursday morning and not believe what happened. He says storm surge heights could top 15 feet in places, and what doesn’t get blown down by the wind could easily get knocked down by water pushing well inland.