Hurricane Delta weakens to Cat. 1; expected to regain strength as it moves toward Louisiana coast

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Hurricane Delta has weakened to a Cat. 1 storm after raking across the coast of northeastern Mexico on Wednesday; the storm is expected to regain its strength to a Cat. 2 storm as it approaches the Louisiana coast.

As of 5 p.m., Delta is 55 miles north-east of Progresso, Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. The storm is currently moving northwest at 17 mph.

This morning., the National Hurricane Center reported that Delta hit with sustained winds of around 110 mph. Overnight, Delta weakened from a Category 4 storm but still stayed extremely powerful.

Delta is expected to grow in size as it approaches the Gulf Coast. It’s expected to regain Category 3 status in the warm water of the Gulf. It looks like it will make landfall in the United States around Friday, bringing heavy rainfall across the southeastern United States.

WATCH: Hurricane Delta forecast

The likelihood of life-threatening storm surge will start Friday for parts of the Louisiana coast.

Delta would be the first-ever hurricane named after a Greek letter to strike the U.S. mainland. The cone of uncertainty puts Delta making landfall somewhere in Louisiana.
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.