Packing 110 mph wind, Hurricane Lili gained strength and churned Wednesday toward the Gulf Coast, where residents braced for the second major storm in a week.
About 330,000 people in Texas' Jefferson and Orange counties were told to evacuate early Wednesday after a tidal surge of more than 9 feet was expected to pound the surf.
Evacuations were ordered Wednesday along the low-lying areas southwest Louisiana.
Lili, which was expected to make landfall Thursday, entered the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday as a Category 2 hurricane with wind of 110 mph. Forecasters said it could strengthen to Category 3, with wind up to 130 mph, on Wednesday.
Earlier, Lili barreled through the Caribbean, killing seven people in Jamaica and St. Vincent and driving tens of thousands of Cubans from their homes.
Forecasts showed Lili heading for the middle of Louisiana's coast, and officials warned that areas could be inundated with as much as 20 feet of water.
| Category | Wind (mph)* | Description |
| Tropical Depression | 38 – less | An organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation. |
| Tropical Storm | 39-73 | An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation. |
| Hurricane | 74-higher | An intense tropical weather system of strong thunderstorms with a well-defined surface. |
| * Winds must be held for a 1-minute average at 33 feet above the surface. | ||
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| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Allison | Arthur | Ana | Alex | Arlene | Alberto |
| Barry | Bertha | Bill | Bonnie | Bret | Beryl |
| Chantal | Cristobal | Claudette | Charley | Cindy | Chris |
| Dean | Dolly | Danny | Danielle | Dennis | Debby |
| Erin | Edouard | Erika | Earl | Emily | Ernesto |
| Felix | Fay | Fabian | Frances | Franklin | Florence |
| Gabrielle | Gustav | Grace | Gaston | Gert | Gordon |
| Humberto | Hanna | Henri | Hermine | Harvey | Helene |
| Iris | Isidore | Isabel | Ivan | Irene | Isaac |
| Jerry | Josephine | Juan | Jeanne | Jose | Joyce |
| Karen | Kyle | Kate | Karl | Katrina | Kirk |
| Lorenzo | Lili | Larry | Lisa | Lee | Leslie |
| Michelle | Marco | Mindy | Matthew | Maria | Michael |
| Noel | Nana | Nicholas | Nicole | Nate | Nadine |
| Olga | Omar | Odette | Otto | Ophelia | Oscar |
| Pablo | Paloma | Peter | Paula | Philippe | Patty |
| Rebekah | Rene | Rose | Richard | Rita | Rafael |
| Sebastien | Sally | Sam | Shary | Stan | Sandy |
| Tanya | Teddy | Teresa | Tomas | Tammy | Tony |
| Van | Vicky | Victor | Virginie | Vince | Valerie |
| Wendy | Wilfred | Wanda | Walter | Wilma | William |
| When winds reach 39 mph, the storm is given a name. Names alternate between male and female names. Each list is reused every six years, although hurricane names that have resulted in substantial damage or death are retired. | |||||
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| Level | Winds (mph) | Description | Example |
| 1 | 74-95 | No real damage to building structures. | Irene: 1999 |
| 2 | 96-110 | Some roofing material, door, and window damage. | Bonnie: 1998 |
| 3 | 111-130 | Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings. Terrain may be flooded well inland. | Keith: 2000 |
| 4 | 131-155 | More extensive damage with some complete roof structure failure on small residences. Major erosion of beach areas. Terrain may be flooded well inland. | Andrew: 1992 |
| 5 | 155 + | Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas may be required. | Camille: 1969 |
Source: National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov) contributed to this report.
