763 
WTNT43 KNHC 270842
TCDAT3

Hurricane Laura Discussion Number  30
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL132020
400 AM CDT Thu Aug 27 2020

Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, around 0600 UTC (1 am
CDT) with maximum sustained winds of 130 kt, which is near the high
end of category 4 status.  At the time of landfall, Laura was
a ferocious looking hurricane with a clear circular eye, an intense
eyewall, and tightly-coiled surrounding spiral bands.  Since the
powerful hurricane has been inland for a few hours, there has been
some decrease in winds, and the estimated initial wind speed based 
on Doppler radar data, surface observations, and guidance from an
inland decay model is 105 kt.

The hurricane is now moving northward with the initial motion
estimated to be 355/13 kt. Laura is expected to continue moving
northward through tonight, which should take the core of the system
across Louisiana and Arkansas.  After that, Laura will likely
become embedded in the mid-latitude westerlies, and the much
weaker cyclone is forecast to move quickly east-northeastward
across the southeast U.S. and the mid-Atlantic states on Friday and
Saturday.  By late in the weekend and early next week, Laura,
or its extratropical remnants, should accelerate northeastward
across the western Atlantic.