Tropical Storm Sally To Bcome A Hurricane, Forecaster Says

Louisiana and Mississippi residents were under evacuation orders on Monday as Tropical Storm Sally churned across the Gulf of Mexico and was strengthening to a hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The second storm in less than a month to threaten the region, Sally is forecast to become a hurricane by late Monday and was headed toward a slow-motion landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with winds of up to 85 miles per hour (137 km/h), the center said.

Residents from Louisiana to Florida were told to expect heavy rains and high winds.

Mississippi and Louisiana issued mandatory evacuation orders to residents of low-lying areas, and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards appealed for a federal disaster declaration and advised people living in Sally’s path to flee.

Residents of southwest Louisiana are still clearing debris and tens of thousands of homes are without power after Hurricane Laura left a trail of destruction.