Hurricane Francine makes landfall in Louisiana as Category 2 storm

>>> THIS IS AN NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT. HERE IS LESTER HOLT. >> GOOD AFTERNOON. WE'RE COMING ON THE NETWORK WITH BREAKING NEWS. HURRICANE FRANCINE HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO A CATEGORY 2 STORM. IT HAS JUST MADE LANDFALL ON THE LOUISIANA COAST SOUTHWEST OF NEW ORLEANS. YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THERE THAT NEW ORLEANS AND BATON ROUGE ARE BOTH EXPECTED TO GET SOME OF THE WORST OF THE STORM. THE WIND RIGHT NOW CHURNING AT 100 MILES PER HOUR. FRANCINE IS BLASTING THE COASTLINE RIGHT NOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND DRENCHING RAIN. IT IS ALREADY SPAWNED OFF TORNADO WARNINGS. LOUISIANA IS USED TO DIRECT HITS BUT THERE ARE REAL CONCERNS HERE OF CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AND MASS POWER OUTAGES AS THE EVENING WEARS. ON LET'S GO RIGHT TO SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT TOM LLAMAS IN NEW ORLEANS. DESCRIBE THE CONDITIONS, TOM. >> Reporter: GOOD EVENING. JUST AS WE CAME ON WITH THIS SPECIAL REPORT, THE WIND GUSTS STARTED TO PICK UP HERE. THIS FEELS ABOUT TROPICAL STORM-STYLE WIND GUSTS. THE HURRICANE-FORCE WIND GUSTS SHOULD PICK UP IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO AS THAT HURRICANE, HURRICANE FRANCINE, INCHES CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE BIG EASY. THIS IS LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. THIS IS BETWEEN THE MASSIVE LAKE AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THAT'S WHY THE SURGE IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN RIGHT NOW AND WE'VE BEEN OUT AND ABOUT ALL DAY. FIREFIGHTERS HAVING TO DEAL WITH A FIRE WHILE THEY PREPARE FOR THE HURRICANE. AS THE FIRST RAIN BANDS ARE COMING OFF HURRICANE FRANCINE, THE FIREFIGHTERS ARE INSIDE THE STRUCTURE. THE ENTIRE ROOF ALMOST BURNED OFF. IT IS STILL UNCLEAR WHAT STARTED THE FIRE BUT IT SHOWS WHAT THESE FIRST RESPONDERS ARE UP AGAINST RIGHT NOW. IN MANY PARTS OF LOUISIANA, SOUTHERN LOUISIANA, THERE'S A CURFEW. BEHIND ME, THERE ARE NO CARS HERE. EARLIER THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT HERE. LOOKY-LOUS. I HAVE TO SAY RIGHT NOW IT HAS REALLY PICKED UP. IT HAS BEEN VERY CALM. IT HAS FELT LIKE A THUNDERSTORM IN NEW ORLEANS UP UNTIL THIS POINT BECAUSE JUST SOUTH OF US, HURRICANE FRANCINE IS GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER. 2,300 NATIONAL GUARD HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. THEY ARE EXPECTING MASS POWER OUTAGES THROUGH THE NIGHT. THIS IS GOING TO BE A NIGHTTIME STORM, A NIGHTTIME EVENT. THAT COULD BE DANGEROUS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS AND REALLY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE IN LOUISIANA. I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH A CAPTAIN OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN MORGAN CITY. THEY WERE RESCUING A FAMILY THAT THEIR TRAILER HAD BEEN KNOCKED OVER BY THE WIND. THEY ARE APPROACHING THE EYE RIGHT NOW AND THEY'RE REALLY FEELING THE BLUNT FORCE OF HURRICANE FRANCINE. HE SAID BY AND LARGE PEOPLE WERE OFF THE ROADS BUT HE WANTED TO GET ONE MESSAGE OUT. PLEASE FOLLOW THE CURFEW. IT IS JUST TOO DANGEROUS OUT THERE. SO DANGEROUS THAT THERE'S NO VISIBILITY. THE WIND IS SO STRONG. THEY PULLED OFF UNITS OUT EXCEPT IN EXTREME SITUATIONS WHERE THEY HAVE TO RESCUE PEOPLE. THAT'S THE LATEST FROM NEW ORLEANS. AS THE WIND GUSTS ARE STARTING TO PICK UP AND THE RAIN IS ENDLESS. BACK TO YOU. >> WE'RE SEEING THE VIDEO OF THE STORM SURGE EFFECTS. METEOROLOGIST BILL KARINS HAS THE LATEST. WHERE IS THIS GOING? >> IT'S ABOUT 90 MILES WIDE BETWEEN BATON ROUGE AND NEW ORLEANS. THAT MEANS THAT WHOLE AREA WHICH INCLUDES A LOT OF PEOPLE IS AT RISK OF LOSING POWER, DOWNED TREES, WIND DAMAGE TO ROOFS AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRACKING. YOU CAN SEE HOW LARGE THE EYE IS. THE BRIGHT RED SHOWS YOU WHERE THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE. THAT'S WHERE WE EXPECT GUSTS 80 TO 100 MILES AN HOUR. THAT'S IN MORGAN CITY OVER THE LAST HOUR. THAT IS TRACKING NORTHWARD. ONLY ABOUT 30 MILES FROM THAT BAND, ABOUT TWO HOURS FROM NOW, IT WILL BE A CLOSE CALL IF THIS GOES THROUGH NEW ORLEANS OR THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF NEW ORLEANS AND MAUREPAS. THAT'S WHERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WILL BE AND WHERE THE MOST PEOPLE WILL LOSE POWER. FOR NEW ORLEANS SPECIFICALLY, THE WORST OF THE WEATHER NOW THROUGH ABOUT 11:00 P.M. I MENTIONED ABOUT TWO HOURS FROM NOW WE SHOULD HAVE A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE WIND AND THAT WOULD BE THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE START BEGINNING TO LOSE POWER IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA AND THE SUBURBS. AS FAR AS RAIN TOTALS GO, IT WILL POUR QUICKLY ABOUT FOUR TO SIX INCHES OF RAIN. ABOUT 75-MILE-PER-HOUR WINDS ARE POSSIBLE. OF COURSE, WE'LL SEE IT IN THE ENTIRE REGION AS WE GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY AND THE NIGHT. AND WINDS ANYWHERE ABOVE 50 HAVE A CHANCE OF POWER OUTAGES. THAT LITTLE UPGRADE FROM A CATEGORY 1 TO 2 DOESN'T SOUND LIKE MUCH BUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WILL LOSE POWER BECAUSE OF IT. IT WILL BE IN EASTERN LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MISSISSIPPI. WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY YET BUT WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED ONES AND FLASH FLOODING. WE STILL HAVE OUR FIRST FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS. THAT WAS THAT RED BLOB. WE'LL BE TRACKING THAT NORTH EDWARDS AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE EVENING AND EVENTUALLY INTO MISSISSIPPI TOMORROW. THE WORST OF THE STORM HAS MOVED ONSHORE. THIS IS NO LONGER REALLY FORECASTING IT. NOW WE'RE TRACKING WHO WILL GET THE WORST DAMAGE. >> THANK YOU. I WANT TO GO TO JESSE IN THE FAMOUS FRENCH QUARTER IN NEW ORLEANS. YOU MAY BE A COUPLE HOURS FROM THE BRUNT OF THE STORM. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING ALREADY IN DOWNTOWN NEW ORLEANS? >> Reporter: YEAH, LESTER, THE RAIN IS PICKING UP. WE'VE HAD PRETTY STEADY RAIN GUSTS. I JUST CHECKED THE MEASURE OF THAT. WE'RE GETTING WINDS 50 MILES PER HOUR. FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN NEW ORLEANS ON VACATION, PERHAPS, BOURBON STREET IS BACK THAT WAY AND RUNS IN THAT DIRECTION. I WANT TO SHOW YOU. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO CARS. THERE SHOULDN'T BE BECAUSE OFFICIALS WANT PEOPLE TO STAY HOME. THIS IS AN IDEA OF WHAT THE WINDS ARE DOING OUT HERE WITH THE TREES. WE HAVE SEEN PEOPLE OUT ON THE STREETS IN CARS. THERE'S ONE BACK THERE DOING A LOOP RIGHT NOW. WE'VE SEEN PEOPLE WALKING AROUND BUT LARGELY IT HAS BEEN QUIET AND OFFICIALS HAVE ASKED PEOPLE AS OF NOON EASTERN TIME, THAT'S WHEN THEY TOLD PEOPLE TO BE SHELTERED IN PLACE. WE'RE WELL PAST THE POINT OF EVACUATIONS. NOW IS THE TIME TO BE HUNKERING DOWN TO BE READY TO RIDE OUT THE STORM. WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING THE TRACK TO TAKE THE STORMS TO THE LEFT OF NEW ORLEANS. IT WILL BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE. NOW MODELING IS SHOWING THAT WE COULD BE HAVING A DIRECT HIT IN NEW ORLEANS, LESTER. >> ALL RIGHT. YOU AND YOUR CREW STAY SAFE. THAT CONCLUDES THIS NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT. WE'LL HAVE MUCH MORE AHEAD IN OUR STREAMING NETWORK NBC NEWS NOW ONLINE. AND TONIGHT ON "NIGHTLY NEWS."