Hurricane Francine formed in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday night and made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, at 5 p.m. Wednesday evening as a Category 2 hurricane, leaving 120,000 Louisiana residents without power. 

Tulane University is expected to temporarily lose power between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. as it moves to generator power.   

Peak flooding could reach 5 to 10 feet in parts of southeastern Louisiana if the storm surge arrives at the time of high tide. Francine has sustained maximum winds of 90 mph and gusts up to 105 mph.  

All of southeast Louisiana is under a tornado watch until 11 p.m. due to the possibility of quick forming tornadoes as Francine moves onshore.  

Cameron Parish and Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, are under mandatory evacuation orders with recommended evacuation orders in Louisiana’s Iberia Parish and St. Martin Parish.  

The Tulane University Office of Emergency Preparedness is actively monitoring the storm with its partners at Perry Weather and the National Hurricane Center.  

In partnership with Bernhard, one of the country’s largest infrastructure firms, Tulane University recently added 16 megawatts of backup power to its Uptown and Downtown campuses. All residence halls and several other uptown buildings have full backup power, and the Malkin Sacks Commons, the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, McAlister Auditorium and Dixon Hall have their own generator power.  

In an email on Sunday, Tulane urged staff, faculty and students to familiarize themselves with their hurricane preparedness plans. Classes have been shifted online through Thursday, and the Malkin-Sacks Commons will close Wednesday at 4 p.m.  

For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit emergencyprep.tulane.edu/hurricane-preparedness.  

This is a developing story and will be updated.