on August 25. Maintaining a west-northwest trajectory, Laura entered the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and quickly organized throughout August 25, reaching hurricane-strength by 12:15 UTC. After moving out of an area of dry air, the hurricane began a period of rapid intensification on August 26. The storm grew in size and featured a well-defined eye surrounded by increasingly symmetric deep convection. By 12:00 UTC, Laura strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale before becoming a Category 4 hurricane six hours later. Continuing to strengthen into August 27, Laura reached its peak intensity of , a high-end Category 4 hurricane, and a minimum pressure of 937 mbar (hPa; 27.67 inHg). At this time, the hurricane turned north toward the Texas–Louisiana coastline within a weakness along the western edge of the Bermuda High. Little change in intensity took place in the few hours before Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, around 06:00 UTC on August 27 near peak strength, as its pressure had risen by 2 mbar. Laura matched the strength of the 1856 Last Island hurricane for strongest landfall in the state and was the first Category 4 landfall on record in southwestern Louisiana. Progressing inland across southwestern Louisiana, Laura produced destructive winds over a wide area, although the storm rapidly weakened as it progressed farther inland. Steady filling of the storm and the disappearance of its eye ensued throughout the day, and Laura weakened to a tropical storm by 17:00 UTC about east-southeast of Shreveport. Maintaining tropical storm-force winds, the system progressed into southwestern Arkansas. By August 28, Laura degraded to a tropical depression over central Arkansas; heavy rain became the primary threat across the Southeast. Around that time, the NHC issued their final advisory on Laura, passing on the responsibility for issuing advisories to the Weather Prediction Center (WPC). Gradually losing tropical characteristics, the weakening storm accelerated east-northeast within the mid-latitude westerlies. The system ultimately degenerated into a remnant low over Kentucky early on August 29, as it began merging with an approaching extratropical storm. Laura's remnant low continued moving eastward, before being absorbed into the approaching extratropical system several hours later over Maryland. Preparations Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands In preparation for the storm, schools were closed in Anguilla and Antigua. A tropical storm watch was issued for several islands in the group on August 20, being upgraded to a warning the next day.