as tropical storm Francine strengthens evacuations have begun along the Gulf Coast as tropical storm Francine intensifies with a hurricane strike expected by midweek a hurricane warning has been issued for Louisiana in anticipation of Francine's arrival the storm formed late Monday morning in the record warm Waters of the western Gulf of Mexico a few hundred miles from the Mexico Texas border by Monday night Francine's maximum sustained winds had increased from 50 mph in the late morning to 65 m per hour