Hurricane Nate makes landfall at U.S. Gulf Coast
Nate
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) -  Hurricane Nate  made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River as a Category 1 storm with winds of 85 miles per hour on Saturday evening  threatening parts of Louisiana  Mississippi and Alabama with torrential rain and potential flooding.
Nate  the fourth major storm to strike the United States in less than two months  killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf and bearing down on the U.S. South.
As the hurricane struck at about 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT Sunday)  the National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded its warning for New Orleans to a tropical storm. But  Nate  was expected to regain some strength and make a second landfall along the coast of Mississippi to the east.
 Related Coverage Hurricane Nate  to weaken significantly as  it  makes landfall
 Nate  comes on the heels of three other major storms  Harvey  Irma and Maria  which devastated Texas  Florida and Puerto Rico  respectively. But as a Category 1  the weakest in the five-category ranking used by meteorologists   Nate  appeared to lack the devastating punch of its predecessors.
Tourists walk down Bourbon Street as  Hurricane Nate  approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in New Orleans  Louisiana  U.S. October 7  2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman
Major shipping ports across the central U.S. Gulf Coast were closed to inbound and outbound traffic on Saturday  as  Nate  intensified and storm surges of up 11 feet (3.74 m) were expected at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Before heading north into the Gulf   Nate  brushed Mexicoâs Yucatan peninsula  home to beach resorts such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen  the NHC said.
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) -  Hurricane Nate  made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River as a Category 1 storm with winds of 85 miles per hour on Saturday evening  threatening parts of Louisiana  Mississippi and Alabama with torrential rain and potential flooding.
 [TGT] the fourth major storm to strike the United States in less than two months  killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf and bearing down on the U.S. South.
As the hurricane struck at about 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT Sunday)  the National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded its warning for New Orleans to a tropical storm. But   [TGT] was expected to regain some strength and make a second landfall along the coast of Mississippi to the east.
 Related Coverage Hurricane Nate  to weaken significantly as  it  makes landfall
  [TGT] comes on the heels of three other major storms  Harvey  Irma and Maria  which devastated Texas  Florida and Puerto Rico  respectively. But as  [TGT] appeared to lack the devastating punch of  [TGT]  predecessors.
Tourists walk down Bourbon Street as   [TGT]   approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in New Orleans  Louisiana  U.S. October 7  2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman
Major shipping ports across the central U.S. Gulf Coast were closed to inbound and outbound traffic on Saturday  as   [TGT] intensified and storm surges of up 11 feet (3.74 m) were expected at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Before heading north into  [TGT] brushed Mexicoâs Yucatan peninsula  home to beach resorts such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen  the NHC said.