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Parts of the roof of a Louisiana casino flew off as the storm hit
Hurricane Laura blew chucks off of the Golden Nugget Casino's roof as it tore through the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Ted Oberg, a reporter for CNN affiliate KTRK was in Lake Charles as hurricane Laura hit the area. As the winds picked up overnight, part of the roof of the Golden Nugget Casino began flying off.
WATCH:
This storm chaser watched Hurricane Laura blow an RV over
Laura weakened to a Category 2 storm, with winds of 110 mph. Earlier this morning, it made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm.
Storm chaser Brandon Clement witnessed strong winds blow an RV over as he documented Hurricane Laura's Louisiana landfall.
See what happened:
Storm surge could spread up to 30 miles inland
Hurricane Laura is battering Louisiana this morning — and the coast isn't the only area that's threatened.
The storm surge for Laura could spread up to 30 miles inland in southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas, reaching all the way to Interstate 10 potentially between Beaumont and Lake Charles.
Here's a look at where there's storm surge warnings:
Almost 450,000 customers without power
From CNN's Joe Sutton
More power outages have been reported in Texas and Louisiana this morning, with almost 450,000 customers without power in both states, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura, with outages affecting almost 360,000 customers. Meanwhile, more than 85,000 of affected customers are in Texas.
Laura is expected to stay a hurricane all the way to the Arkansas border
Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that while Laura has weakened since landfall, it's expected to remain a hurricane as it travels northward throughout Louisiana today.
"We expect Hurricane Laura to still be a hurricane even when you get up tp Shreveport, right on the Arkansas border," he said on CNN's New day.
Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm overnight. Since then, it has weakened to a Category 2, with winds of 110 mph.
He barricaded himself inside his Louisiana home with two mattresses
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Tolor White, Jr. filmed this video inside his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It shows the significant damage caused by Hurricane Laura.
He told CNN he dozed off after working on a crossword puzzle but was woken up by a loud noise a little before 1:15 a.m. local time.
When he crawled out from under his makeshift barricade — two mattresses — he saw the roof had been torn off by the wind. As he was surveying the damage, the glass windows broke directly next to him.
Warnings across southeast Texas have been reduced
The National Weather Service in Houston has reduced warnings across southeast Texas.
However, they warn that the storm remains a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm, but it has since weakened to a Category 2.
The storm surge for Laura could spread up to 30 miles inland in southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas — reaching all the way to Interstate 10 potentially between Beaumont and Lake Charles.
The National Hurricane Center's next advisory will be released in an hour
The National Hurricane Center will release its next forecast advisory at 8 a.m. ET.
Since the center's last advisory, released at 5 a.m. ET, Hurricane Laura has weakened into a Category 2 storm. The hurricane has winds of 110 mph.
In the meantime, here's a look at Laura's latest predicted path:
Here's what it's like on the ground in Louisiana and Texas
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm, but it has since weakened to a Category 2.
Laura's center, known as the eye of the storm, is now located north of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
CNN's national correspondent Martin Savidge is reporting from Lake Charles, which has seen extensive damage. Here's a look at what he's seeing:
Meanwhile, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Beaumont, Texas, where more than 77,000 customers are without power, according to PowerOutage.US. Here's what it's like on the ground there:
