Avoyelles will be on dangerous right hand of Laura throughout Thursday

At midnight Hurricane Laura was 40 miles south of Lake Charles and 45 miles from Port Arthur, Texas with sustained winds of 150 mph and gusts of 184 mph, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane's eyewall was moving onshore at Cameron Parish with an 89 mph wind gust recorded, National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Erickson reported from Lake Charles.

Tornado warnings and flash flood warnings are in effect in south central Louisiana, Erickson noted,adding that more warnings are likely as the storm progresses after landfall today.

Online weather sites indicate the storm will still be a Category 2 storm with winds of 96 mph to 110 mph as it passes due west of Avoyelles Parish. Forecasts for this parish indicate wind gust of 40-60 mph, 4-8 inches of rain, localized power outages and moderate risk to lives and property.

Storm watchers have indicated Laura has strong potential to spin off tornadoes after it makes landfall Thursday. They said tornadoes are more likely to the right side of the hurricane as it moves through Louisiana and then curves to cut through east Arkansas, west Missississippi and possibly still with some punch left for Tennessee on Friday.

Avoyelles will be to the right of Laura throughout the day Thursday, which according to the forecasters is the wrong side to be on when it comes to tornado threats.