Francine making its way through Mississippi

• As of 6 A.M. Thursday morning, nearly 60,000 Mississippians are without power as the storm brings heavy rains to the Magnolia State.

Hurricane Francine made landfall Wednesday evening around 5 P.M. miles in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

It was downgraded to a Tropical Storm overnight as it made its way north through Mississippi bringing heavy rains and wind gusts pushing 60 mph from the Gulf Coast to the Pine Belt.

The National Hurricane Center said Francine is expected to drop 4 to 8 inches of rainfall across the Southeast, much of it in Mississippi and spreading into Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

As of 6 A.M Thursday morning, PowerOutage.us reported that nearly 60,000 customers in Mississippi and 390,000 in Louisiana are without power. Utility crews have worked throughout much of the night and into the morning hours.

Emergency officials will begin conducting damage and impact assessments as the sun rises Thursday morning. Reports of widespread limbs and debris on roadways as well as downed power lines have been reported from the Coast to central Mississippi.

Many local governments, school districts, and businesses across Mississippi have either delayed opening or closed Thursday morning. Officials say to check with those entities before leaving home.

Offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down Wednesday as Francine approached.

“Nearly 39% of oil and almost half of natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was offline on Wednesday, the offshore regulator said. A total of 171 production platforms and three rigs had been evacuated,” Reuters reported.

This pushed oil prices up 1 percent, “extending a rebound spurred by concern over Hurricane Francine’s impact on U.S. output, though a gloomy demand outlook capped gains,” Reuters noted.