Extreme Weather: Latest On Tropical Storm Delta Moving Towards Louisiana, Strengthening Into Hurricane

Tropical Storm Delta continued to grow stronger Monday and has now reached hurricane status, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The system is traveling over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and is expected to slam western Cuba or Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

A hurricane watch is in place for western Cuba, with the Cayman Islands under a tropical storm warning. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph on Monday.

The system will likely reach the Gulf Coast by Thursday or Friday, hitting Louisiana and the Florida panhandle with rain and wind. Residents in those areas are advised to prepare a hurricane plan and keep updated on the storm.

Delta is the 25th named storm of this year. It is the 10th storm to make landfall in the U.S. in 2020.

This the second major storm to be named Delta. In late November 2005, the first Tropical Storm Delta caused significant damage in the Canary Islands, before dissipating as it reached Morocco.

The strongest storm in this year’s hurricane season has been Laura, which hit Louisiana and Texas in late August. Hurricane Laura has killed at least 42 people in the U.S.

The 1900 Great Galveston Hurricane was the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, resulting in 6,000 to 12,000 fatalities. Most of the deaths occurred near Galveston, Texas.