Hurricane Laura is strengthening and is ready to strike the upper Texas coast and western Louisiana. The storm, which intensified from a Category 1 to Category 3 overnight, is forecast to make landfall as a “catastrophic” Category 4 between Houston and Lake Charles, La., on Wednesday or early Thursday morning. Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect. Beaumont and Port Arthur, Tex., severely damaged during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, may be near the point of landfall, officials have ordered evacuations.
