"The tropical storm, forecast to make landfall as a hurricane Monday night into Tuesday, may rapidly intensify."

"After deluging South Florida and the Florida Keys, Tropical Storm Sally is strengthening and forecast to become a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. When it slugs ashore Monday night into Tuesday, the storm is expected to unleash a prolonged and dangerous assault from wind and water in southeastern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, including New Orleans.

Sally may rapidly intensify to a Category 2 or stronger storm before landfall, with “an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm surge” expected, according to the National Hurricane Center. The surge is the storm-driven rise in water above normally dry land at the coast.

Double-digit rainfall totals, even up to two feet, are also expected, with the risk of widespread and serious flash flooding added atop a growing threat from damaging winds."

Matthew Cappucci, Jason Samenow, and Andrew Freedman report for the Washington Post September 13, 2020. [2]