Two tropical storms were headed toward the Gulf Coast on Monday. Marco and Laura could hit just a few hundred miles apart within 48 hours of each other. Forecasters believe Laura could be a major hurricane when it makes landfall, and residents in low-lying areas have been ordered to evacuate.
Marco is expected to hit the Louisiana coast by Monday. The storm had strengthened to a hurricane Sunday but has since weakened to a tropical storm. As of 2 p.m. ET, Marco was located about 40 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and it was heading northwest at 6 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Meanwhile, Laura, which battered the Dominican Republic and Haiti, leaving millions without power and killing at least 11, is expected to hit the U.S. by Wednesday evening or Thursday. Forecasters expect the storm to bring widespread flooding and life-threatening storm surge.
The storms were heading for the U.S. ahead of the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina devastating New Orleans. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the window between the two storms could be as slim as 12 hours — and it comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, an added challenge as people leave their homes and head to shelters.
Laura was not expected to weaken over land before moving into warm, deep Gulf waters that forecasters said could bring rapid intensification. "We're only going to dodge the bullet so many times. And the current forecast for Laura has it focused intently on Louisiana," Edwards said during a news briefing.
Shrimp trawlers and fishing boats were tied up in a Louisiana harbor ahead of the storms. Red flags warned swimmers away from the pounding surf. Both in-person classes and virtual school sessions required because of the pandemic were canceled in some districts.
A food bank that has been twice as busy as normal since March providing meals to people affected by the pandemic prepared to shut down for a few days because of the weather, but not before distributing a last round of provisions to the needy. "We're very tired," said Lawrence DeHart, director of Terrebonne Churches United Foodbank in Houma.
State emergencies were declared in Louisiana and Mississippi, and shelters were being opened with cots set farther apart, among other measures designed to curb infections. "The virus is not concerned that we have hurricanes coming, and so it's not going to take any time off and neither can we," Edwards said.
Several hours away from the Louisiana coast, a lopsided Marco continued to collapse. By late Monday morning, meteorologists could no longer find tropical storm-force winds within its ragged center.
It stayed a tropical storm only because of stronger winds to the northeast. Because of that, the National Hurricane Center canceled some tropical storm warnings but kept them for the New Orleans region and farther east to the Mississippi and Alabama border, where Marco still had a bit of strength.
The threat of 2 to 4 feet of storm surge remained. Hampered by strong crosswinds that were decapitating the storm, Marco was expected to lose tropical storm designation late Monday, the hurricane center said.
While Marco weakened, Laura's potential got stronger, and forecasters raised the possibility of a major hurricane that would pummel western Louisiana and eastern Texas from late Wednesday into Thursday. Once Laura passes Cuba, the system could quickly strengthen over warm water, which acts as fuel to supercharge the storm.
Forecasters predicted winds of 105 mph before landfall, but some models showed an even stronger storm.
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August 25, 2020 at 02:08AM
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Tropical Storm Laura batters the Caribbean and the U.S. Gulf Coast could be next - CBS News
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