NEW ORLEANS — Francine did not maintain a straight line as it moved through Louisiana.
The hurricane made landfall as a Category 2 storm in southern Terrebonne Parish just after 5 p.m. Wednesday. It moved in a northeast direction before turning east towards Houma. It then headed due north before turning east over Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain after it crossed Interstate 10. While over Lake Pontchartrain, it finally headed back north and left the state.
WWL Louisiana's Peyton Malone has more:
Residents all along southeast Louisiana were advised to stay home and off the streets while the conditions were dangerous. Most schools, businesses and government organizations were closed as people waited all day for Francine, which started a few days ago in the Gulf of Mexico as just a blob of storms forecast initially for a southwest Louisiana landfall.
Francine brought heavy rainfall and winds as it moved across the state, leading to flooding, power outages, and damage to buildings.
The storm knocked out power to more than 200,000 buildings and raised concerns about sewage backups in some metro New Orleans parishes.
OUTAGES: Power Outages: Parish-by-Parish