New Orleans Is Under Hurricane Watch

Tropical Storm Francine became Hurricane Francine over the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday evening as its course shifted eastward, putting New Orleans under hurricane watch. The storm is expected to make landfall in Louisiana Wednesday afternoon or evening but forecaster say it will likely hit as a Category 1 hurricane, not a more damaging Category 2 as earlier predicted, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 storm when it hit the area 19 years ago.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency. At midday Tuesday, he warned that residents have a 24-hour window to "batten down all the hatches," the AP reports. Evacution orders have been issued in some coastal communities and volunteers have been distributing sandbags in New Orleans. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has also declared a state of emergency, reports NBC News.

In an update Tuesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said a hurricane warning is in effect for the Louisiana coast from Cameron eastward to Grand Isle, and a hurricane watch is in effect for Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain, including metropolitan New Orleans. A storm surge warning, meaning there's a chance of life-threatening flooding, stretches from the from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border, the AP reports. "This is a life-threatening situation," the NHC said. "Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions." (More hurricanes stories.)