Watch Tropical Storm Francine Strengthen in Time-Lapse Video

Tropical Storm Francine is seen strengthening in a time-lapse video shared by AccuWeather on Monday.
Tropical Storm Francine became the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season on Monday. It forms after an unexpected lull in tropical activity that followed Hurricane Ernesto, which never made U.S. landfall although it created a life-threatening risk of rip currents along the Eastern coast. Francine forms as meteorologists have predicted an exceptionally active Atlantic hurricane season earlier this year, citing the El Nino weather pattern and uncommonly warm sea surface temperatures.
On Monday afternoon, AccuWeather shared a time-lapse video of satellite imagery that shows the storm strengthening over the past two days.
“Timelapse satellite footage shows Tropical Storm Francine forming in the Gulf of Mexico,” AccuWeather posted with the video on X, formerly Twitter.
As of Monday afternoon, the storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds were measured at 65 miles per hour. The storm is expected to reach Category 1 hurricane status—in which wind speeds are measured between 74 mph and 95 mph—by Wednesday, and several states along the Gulf Coast are bracing for potential landfall. National Hurricane Center (NHC) meteorologists expect the storm to make landfall somewhere along the Louisiana coastline. Although current forecasts expect the storm will land as a Category 1, Dan Brown, the branch chief of the NHC Hurricane Specialist Unit, told Newsweek that people in the impacted areas should prepare for one category stronger.
In a recent update, the NHC warning that the storm was “quickly strengthening.”
“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the X post said.
A slew of weather-related warnings have already been issued because of the storm, spanning from Texas’ southernmost tip to Mississippi. Alerts include a storm surge warning, hurricane warning, tropical storm warning, rip current statement and flood watch, among others.
Storm surge is expected to be one of the storm’s biggest threats, with meteorologists warning of potentially fatal impacts for portions of Upper Texas and the Louisiana coastline.
“A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, somewhere within this area within the next 36 hours,” the storm surge warning for New Orleans said.
Hurricane-force winds also are expected to carry a life-threatening risk, the NHC warned in one of its recent updates. Heavy rain will pose the risk of flash flooding, with some areas along the Mexican and Texas coastlines expecting around 12 inches of rain as the storm progresses. Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi will experience the flash flood risk through Thursday morning.