Another hurricane to hit near Lake Charles, La., area Friday evening

As Hurricane Delta makes it way toward the U.S., Gulf states are preparing for landfall, with southwestern Louisiana expecting a direct hit.

As of press time, Hurricane Delta was a Category 2 storm headed toward Louisiana. If the storm moves as projected, it will reach landfall near Lake Charles, the same location struck by Hurricane Laura in late August.

Hurricane Laura reached landfall as a Category 4 storm, shutting down Interstate 10 and several other highways. Although Hurricane Delta is expected to strike as a Category 2 storm, damages may be more severe as the area is still recovering from Hurricane Laura.

Hurricane Delta is not expected to reach the coastline until Friday evening. No major road closures are being reported as of 2 p.m. local time. However, Interstate 10 has stopped traffic from about N. Enterprise Road to just east of Interstate 210 as residents evacuate. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is encouraging motorists to avoid the area and use Interstate 49 north to Interstate 20 west as an alternate route.

According to the Louisiana DOTD, Route 317 is closed from East Bayou Sale Levee to Burns Point. The road in St. Mary Parish will reopen once conditions improve.

For updated traffic information in Louisiana, go to 511LA.org.

On Wednesday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a regional emergency declaration ahead of Hurricane Delta. That declaration affects Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Carriers and drivers providing direct emergency assistance are granted relief from certain federal regulations. For details, click here.

President Donald Trump has approved of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal emergency declaration. On Tuesday, the governor declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Delta. That declaration can be found here.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a hurricane warning is in effect from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, La. A storm surge warning extends further east to the Mouth of the Pearl River including Calcasieu Lake, Vermilion Bay and Lake Borgne. Once the storm reaches landfall, forecasters expect it to move across central and northeastern Louisiana Friday night and Saturday morning. NHC expects Hurricane Delta to turn northeast on Saturday.  LL