Life-threatening flooding was likely in New Orleans and communities west along Interstate 10 Wednesday night as the core of Hurricane Francine moved through the region, dropping several inches of rain in just a few hours.

A state renowned for its cultural and natural landscapes is once again recovering from the devastation caused by a hurricane.

Hurricane Francine made landfall south of Morgan City, Louisiana, as a Category 2 hurricane, becoming the 13th hurricane to make landfall in the state since 2000.

Francine knocked out power to more than 400,000 customers and flooded low-lying areas south of Interstate 10.

Hurricane Francine made landfall on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.

(FOX Weather)

The Category 2 hurricane caused damage that could reach more than $1.5 billion along the Gulf Coast, according to CoreLogic, a global technology company.

“CoreLogic Hazard Command Central has estimated insured wind and storm surge losses from Hurricane Francine to be $1.5 billion,” the company said Thursday. “Losses include damage to buildings, contents, and business interruption for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural properties. The vast majority of modeled losses come from damage in Louisiana, with Mississippi and Alabama contributing slightly.”

When does the last hurricane usually hit the US coast?

Francine’s landfall also makes it the third hurricane to directly hit the United States in 2024, with other hurricanes making landfall in Texas and Florida.

Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas on July 8 as a Category 1 hurricane, and about a month later, Hurricane Debby strengthened to a Category 1 before making landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida on August 5.

Both events were rated by insurance companies as billion-dollar disasters, with Beryl being the costliest cyclone of the year, causing an estimated $6 billion in damage in the United States.

Fortunately, for much of the western and central Gulf, the same patterns that work against them earlier in the season begin to work in their favor starting in October, limiting the direct impacts of storms and their westward movement.

The last date Texas was hit by a hurricane was October 16, while Louisiana’s record is October 29.

Although hurricane season lasts through November 30, states further downstream, such as Florida and the Carolinas, often see more storms in the last few weeks of the season, giving states further west a break.

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What’s behind the recent surge in strikes in Louisiana?

Forecasters say there is no specific cause for the strikes in the state and that the increase is just a fluke.

Warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico increase the likelihood of hurricane formation, but the paths these systems take are influenced by various atmospheric features such as troughs, high pressure ridges, and the jet stream.

This means that some regions are more vulnerable than others, but impacts can fluctuate from year to year.

A hurricane has been hitting the Louisiana coast since 2000

(FOX Weather)

For example, in 2004, Louisiana experienced no hurricanes, while Florida was heavily impacted by four notable hurricanes.

That year, atmospheric conditions favored tropical cyclones in Florida, largely sparing areas further west.

Similar trends have been observed in coastal regions of Texas and the Carolinas, where some areas can experience multiple tropical cyclones followed by periods of reduced activity.

Louisiana’s terrain increases its vulnerability to tropical cyclones, with about 40 percent of the state lying below sea level.

Although efforts such as coastal restoration programs and levee systems have been implemented to mitigate the risks posed by hurricanes, the measures are not foolproof.