Francine makes landfall as Category 2 hurricane; tornado watch remains in effect until 11 p.m.

ON UP AND TAKE A LOOK WE HAVE A TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT. LET'S LOOK AT THAT TORNADO WATCH. NO TORNADO WARNING SO FAR ISSUED FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DATA OUT OF A SLIDE DOWN IN LAKE CHARLES. SO THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS THERE. THIS TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT TILL 11 O'CLOCK TONIGHT. OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE FLOOD WATCHES, FLOOD SPECIFICALLY FOR SAINT MARY PARISH TERREBONNE PARISH. AND THEN NOW LAFOURCHE PARISH ADDING TO THE MESS. AND THAT'S WHERE THE HEAVIEST RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO MANIFEST. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING FOR. SURE. SO AS WE LOOK AT THE PREDICTIVE RADAR AGAIN, THE WORST WEATHER JUST EAST OF ACADIANA. OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO MINIMIZE IT FOR SAINT MARY PARISH. AND AGAIN, THAT WAS BACK IN RAIN BANDS THAT WE JUST SHOWED YOU EARLIER. I EXPECT THAT THROUGH ABOUT 8 O'CLOCK. AND HERE WE ARE AT ABOUT 5.20, OR SO. SO IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE THINGS BEGIN TO QUIET DOWN, EVEN IN SAINT MARY PARISH. BUT BY 10, 11 O'CLOCK TONIGHT, THE WORST OF IT WILL BE OVER IT FOR YOU AND THE REST OF US. THE WORST OF THE OVER PROBABLY BY ABOUT 9 OR 10 O'CLOCK. YOU MIGHT SEE A FEW TROPICAL SHOWERS, A FEW GUSTY WINDS. BUT THERE IS NO THREATENING WEATHER FOR 80% OF ACADIANA. IT'S ALL EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN ACADIANA AND THAT'S SAINT MARY AND THE LOWER PART OF SAINT MARTIN PARISH. EVENTUALLY THAT WHOLE MESS MOVING THROUGH MISSISSIPPI, MISSISSIPPI IS GOING TO GET A HECK OF A LOT MORE RAIN THAN MOST OF ACADIANA. HERE'S THE LATEST THEIR HERD MODEL RUN ON WIND GUSTS, 30'S 40'S AND THEN OBVIOUSLY HIGHER AS WE GO THROUGH PORTIONS OF SAINT MARY PARISH, YOU CAN PROBABLY ADD 2030, MILES AN HOUR FOR SURE. AND AGAIN, MODEL IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE SLOW ON. WE THINK THE EYES ALREADY MAKING LANDFALL AND THAT EYEWALL IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT OVER HERE. SOME MODELS HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT FARTHER TO THE THEN THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER POSITIONING AND ALSO WHERE WE'RE SEEING THOSE HIGHS WINDS. BUT YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CONDITIONS STILL BLOWING OVER 40 DOWN THROUGH SAINT MARY PARISH, BUT THEN DROPPING OFF. WE THINK MIDNIGHT 1, 2 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. AND THEN IT'S JUST A NICE, DRY OR NORTHWESTERLY BREEZE. MOVING IN, AS BRIANNA SHOWED YOU A LITTLE BIT WE'VE GOT SOME NICE WEATHER AHEAD AND GUARANTEED FOR THERE'S ANOTHER DEPRESSION OUT IN THE ATLANTIC. WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT FOR RIGHT NOW. IT'S THE SURPRISES THAT WE GET WITH AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT DID GET WAS JUST A WEAK TROPICAL WAVES ACROSS THE YUCATAN DURING THE COURSE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY SATURDAY. OKAY. MAYBE SOMETHING MAY DEVELOP SUNDAY. I'M SENDING OUT E-MAILS AND MESSAGES TO EVERYBODY KATC. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A TROPICAL STORM AND THEN BY SUNDAY GET DES WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE A HURRICANE AND COULD BE A CAT ONE CAT 2. SO WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE. LET'S JUST BRING THIS BACK TO THE RAINFALL. I JUST WANT TO KIND OF RIPS. GRAPHICS ARE GETTING A LITTLE SKETCHY HERE, BUT SHOW YOU WHERE THE HIGHEST RAINFALLS WILL CONTINUE TO ADDITIONAL RAINFALL. I WOULD SAY 3 TO 5 FOR SAINT MARY PARISH. BUT THE FIRM THE THREAT OF FLOODING RAINS YOU CAN SEE ARE GOING TO BE OVER EASTERN LOUISIANA FOR SURE AND INTO MISSISSIPPI. BUT THIS STORM IS MOVING ALONG AT A GOOD CLIP AT ABOUT 17 MILES AN HOUR. THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT. YOU WANT A FAST MOVING STORM. STORM SURGE. WE HAVEN'T TOUCHED ON THIS. BUT HERE'S THE NEW DATA. AGAIN, NO ISSUES WITH STORM SURGE. NOTICE THE AREAS THAT WE HAD IN YELLOW. I DIDN'T THINK WE'D HAVE PROBLEMS NOT TOO TERRIBLY BAD AT ALL. BUT YOU KNOW, FARTHER SOUTH AND EAST AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HAVING ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO STORM SURGE. WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT SOME OF THE BACKCOURT OF FLOODING AROUND THE FRANKLIN AREA THAT HAS RECEDED BACK TO THE WEST. SO GOOD NEWS THERE. SO THAT IS THE BEST NEWS OF ALL. AND THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME MINOR SURGE FLOODING, ESPECIALLY EASTERN PORTIONS OF LOUISIANA. NORTHWESTERN SECTIONS OF LAKE PONCHATRAIN AS WELL. BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE SUPER PROBLEMATIC IS NOT A CATEGORY 3, 4, OR 5 STORM, NOR WAS IT ANY TIME IN THE GULF OF MEXICO LIKE KATRINA CAME IN AS A 3. BUT I HAD A CATEGORY 5 STORM SURGE WITH A WHEN USED TO ASSOCIATE WINDS AND STORM SURGE IN THE SAME SAFIR SIMPSON SCALE WHICH WE NO LONGER SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AGAIN, HERE'S JUST LAFAYETTE RAIN CHANCES. HOW ABOUT THIS? 2030 1%? IT'S GOING TO BE BREEZY WINDS GRADUALLY TURNING OUT THE NORTH AND THEN NORTHWEST AS WE GO THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AND YOU SEE HOW THEY CALM DOWN AS WE MOVE FORWARD DOWN THE LINE. SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE WEATHER DEPARTMENT. THE ONLY MAJOR ISSUE AGAIN CONTINUES TO BE THESE COLDER CLOUD TOPS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THE STORM MAXIMIZE JUST AS IT MADE LANDFALL. NOW, AS WE LOOK AT SHADES OF PURPLE HERE, NOT AS BRIGHT. SO THOSE CLOUD TOPS ARE STARTING TO WARM. AND I THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR FRANCINE, THE BEGINNING OF THE WEAKENING TREND. AND AGAIN, WE'LL GET AN UPDATED ON THE COURT PATH. BUT OFFICIALLY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THIS STORM MADE LANDFALL, TERREBONNE PARISH AT 5 O'CLOCK THIS EVENING. BUT THE OUTER RAIN BANDS ARE REALLY RIGHT AROUND.