Hurricane Delta taking aim at Texas and Louisiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)–Hurricane Delta made landfall early Wednesday as a category 2 storm. It’s now heading into the Gulf of Mexico where it will likely strengthen into a major hurricane.

Delta is the 25th storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. The season has been so active the National Hurricane Center had to start using the Greek Alphabet when it ran out of storm names on its list. This has only been done in one other year, 2005.

The forecast has Delta intensifying into a major hurricane, a category 3 storm by early Thursday morning. It looks like landfall will be possible in eastern Texas or Louisiana sometime Friday afternoon as a category 2 or 3 storm.

The National Hurricane Center is already warning those in the path of life threatening storm surge, heavy rainfall and hurricane force winds.

The steering currents responsible for directing Delta into the Gulf is a large area of high pressure over parts of Florida. This along with a weak area of high pressure off to the west will direct it into Louisiana.

So far the 2020 season has brought 25 named storms which is well above the seasonal average of 11. Nine of the storms have been hurricanes which is also above average. Three hurricanes have been classified as major hurricanes which are category 3 or higher.

Delta would be the fourth storm to make landfall in Louisiana this year.