Barry becomes hurricane as it bears down on Louisiana -NHC

July 13 (Reuters) - Storm Barry was upgraded to hurricane status on Saturday as it moved onto Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), and its center is expected to cross the coast during the next few hours, the National Hurricane Center said.

Barry should quickly weaken below hurricane strength as it moves onshore, the NHC said in a bulletin, and is forecast to weaken below tropical storm strength over 24 to 36 hours. (Reporting by Daniel Wallis Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)