Storm Chaser Josh Morgerman discusses seasonal forecasts and how coronavirus affects where he can travel to cover storms.
PORT-AU PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Marco was hit by a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday en route to the Louisiana coast. Tropical Storm Laura hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti and went to the same part of the American coast, also as a potential hurricane.
It would be the first time two hurricanes have formed in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time, according to data dating to at least 1900, said hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University.
The National Hurricane Center said Marco was about 300 miles (480 kilometers) south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and heading northwest at 14 miles per hour (22 km / h), picking up wind at 75 miles per hour ( 120 km / h). The center warned of life-threatening hurricanes and strong hurricane winds along the Gulf Coast.
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Haitian civil protection officials said they had received reports that a 10-year-old girl had died when a tree fell on a house in the southern coastal town of Anse-a-Pitres, on the border with the Dominican Republic. It was the first reported death from the storm. Hundreds of thousands were without power in the Dominican Republic, as both countries on the island of Hispaniola suffered severe flooding.
A hurricane watch was issued for the New Orleans metro area, which Hurricane Katrina pummeled in August 2005.
Laura lay about 95 miles (155 kilometers) from the eastern tip of Cuba on Sunday morning, with a maximum sustained wind of 85 km / h. It was moving west-northwest at 21 mph (33 km / h)
People walk down the street as they protect themselves from the rain as Tropical Storm Laura passes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, August 23, 2020. (AP Photo / Dieu Nalio Chery)
Crews armed with megaphones in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo have urged dozens of residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate before the heavy rains hit Laura. The storm left more than 100,000 people without water in the Dominican Republic on Saturday night, while earlier trees were uprooted and power was cut off to more than 200,000 customers in neighboring Puerto Rico.
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It was planned to move across Cuba on Sunday evening or Monday.
Officials in the Florida Keys, who Laura might cross over on her route in the Gulf, declared a local state of emergency and issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone living on boats, in mobile homes and in campers. Tourists staying in hotels were warned to be aware of dangerous weather conditions and consider changing their plans from Sunday.
New warnings were added Sunday morning – including a storm surge warning from Morgan City, Louisiana to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and a hurricane warning from Morgan City to the mouth of the Pearl River. A tropical storm warning included Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, and metropolitan New Orleans.
A storm surge of up to 6 meters (2 meters) was forecast for parts of the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, who declared a state of emergency on Friday, asked President Donald Trump for a federal emergency declaration. “The cumulative impact of these storms is likely to have a lot of Louisiana for tropical storm / hurricane forces that will last for a much longer period than it would with a single hurricane,” he wrote.
People in Louisiana went to stores to stock up on food, water, and other supplies. However, Raymond Monday of Gretna only had one generator on his cart at Sam’s Club. “We have a freezer full of food” at home, along with large containers of water, he said.
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Both storms would expect to bring 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 inches) of rain to areas they pass as near, threatening flooding.
The hurricane center said the storms are not expected to interact because the region has an unusually active hurricane season.
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“We are in unusual times,” Mississippi Gov. said. Tate Reeves at a news conference Saturday when he declared a state of emergency. “We are not only dealing with two potential storms in the coming hours, we are also dealing with COVID-19.”
