Hurricane Delta Headed Toward US Gulf Coast

U.S. weather forecasters said late Thursday that Hurricane Delta has strengthened “a little” as it moves toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.The National Hurricane Center said Delta could bring a life-threatening storm surge to the coast between High Island, Texas, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi.Meteorologists say Delta’s center will move over the northwestern Gulf on Friday, moving inland Friday afternoon or Friday night.Delta, a Category 3 hurricane, is moving with maximum sustained winds of nearly 195 kph and slight continued strengthening overnight is possible, the center said in its latest report.The hurricane is expected to weaken as it moves toward the northern Gulf coast Friday. Forecasters say rapid weakening is expected after the center of the storm moves inland.Delta hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday as a Category 2 storm, flooding streets, knocking down trees and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Authorities reported no deaths or injuries from the storm.Tuesday, the storm caught the attention of meteorologists when it exploded from a strong Category 2 storm to Category 4 storm in just over 20 minutes, as it moved across the southern Caribbean Sea, only slightly more than a day after forming as a tropical storm.Delta is the 25th named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season and is the earliest-forming 25th storm of any hurricane season on record. 
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