Francine knocks out power to hundreds of thousands in southern US

Francine knocked out power to nearly half a million homes and businesses and canceled hundreds of flights in the southern US after making landfall as a hurricane.

The storm weakened to a tropical depression with winds of 35 miles (55 kilometers) per hour as it approached Jackson, Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory Thursday. Francine, which had winds of 100 mph when it made landfall Wednesday, is expected to lose strength throughout the day.

“Continued weakening is forecast,” the hurricane center said. “Francine is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later today.”

More than 470,000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as of 7 a.m. local time, according to PowerOutage.us. About 80 flights were canceled at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, adding to the 240 grounded in the region on Wednesday, FlightAware.com said.

Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, a sparsely populated area southwest of New Orleans.

Photo: Houma, Louisiana, on the evening of 9/11.

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