Hurricane Laura nearing landfall in Louisiana; conjuring

nola.com:

Hurricane Laura seen after 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020

The Category 4 hurricane was 60 miles south of Lake Charles at 11 p.m. with 150 mph winds at its peak.

Those winds and the unbelievable storm surge are record-breaking. No hurricane so powerful has ever hit the Pelican State’s coast, even beating out the devastating Hurricane Katrina and the familiar Rita, which had battered the same area in 2005.

…

Ben Schott, meteorologist in charge of the Slidell office of the National Weather Service, noted that the storm’s predicted impacts were so massive they were hard to conjure [later changed to „the storm’s predicted impact was so massive it was hard to conjecture.“ Significant to me here is the initial phrasing].

“To think that there would be a wall of water over two stories high coming onshore is very difficult for most to conceive, but that is what is going to happen as we move into the early morning hours tonight into Thursday,” Schott said. “There will be a wall up to 18 to 20 feet at the highest point. The majority of Cameron Parish will be underwater at some point.”