Axios

A wet winter followed by a record hot, dry summer has primed the Southwest for fast-growing wildfires that have forced thousands to evacuate in recent days.

Why it matters: The climate context of the wildfire outbreak, which spans several Western states but is particularly acute in California and Nevada, shows a preview of the West's future.

Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 storm Wednesday afternoon, and has caused significant flooding and widespread power outages that are spreading to neighboring states Thursday morning.

The latest: The center of Francine, now a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, passed some 35 miles west-northwest of New Orleans, per the National Hurricane Center.

Mitsubishi Corp. is exploring an equity stake in Exxon's proposed Texas hydrogen and ammonia plant and would also be a customer under the brewing deal.

Why it matters: Exxon is lining up corporate giants behind what it calls the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen project.

The last of Francine moved out of New Orleans early Thursday, and the sun is forecast to return in the afternoon.

Why it matters: There's cleanup to do after widespread street flooding and wind damage overnight.

Editor's note: Follow Axios New Orleans' storm updates

Hurricane Francine made landfall around 5pm local time in Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish with winds near 100mph, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday.

The latest: Francine was downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed some 35 miles west-northwest of New Orleans, according to a 10pm update from the NHC.

A few things stood out from last night's first Kamala Harris-Donald Trump contest ...

🎯 Harris aimed for the center. She embraced the U.S. oil boom in her latest pivot from her 2019 call for a fracking ban, and later shouted out record gas output.

Over and over at last night's presidential debate, Kamala Harris set traps surgically designed to provoke, rattle and enrage Donald Trump.

• And over and over, Trump stepped right into them.

Why it matters: With just eight weeks until the election, Harris delivered for Democrats on the biggest possible stage — the type of national stage that ended President Biden's political career less than three months ago.

Storm Francine intensified into a hurricane Tuesday evening as it churned from the western Gulf of Mexico toward coastal Louisiana, per the National Hurricane Center.

Threat level: Hurricane, storm surge and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect from westernmost Louisiana to coastal Mississippi.