Hurricane Laura Strengthening Rapidly to Category 4 Storm

Hurricane Laura is poised to become a life-threatening Category 4 storm before coming ashore along the Texas-Louisiana coast this week, potentially inflicting as much as $18 billion in damage on the region and keeping some of America’s largest oil refineries shut for months.

Laura’s winds were forecast to peak at 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour over the Gulf of Mexico, but may weaken slightly before hitting the coast on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has already disrupted offshore oil and natural gas production, shut a third of the Gulf Coast’s refining capacity, halted exports and prompted mandatory evacuations. It’s set to be the first major system to hit the Gulf Coast since Michael in 2018.