Tropical Storm Marco was able to intensify Monday in a hurricane and make landfall on the Louisiana coast – while Tropical Storm Laura is heading in the same direction, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Laura lay southwest of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, early Sunday morning after knocking out utilities in Hispaniola and leaving many in Puerto Rico without power.
A hurricane watch has been issued for the New Orleans metro area and voluntary evacuations have been issued in certain areas, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, proponents said. The coasts of Mississippi and Alabama were also under tropical storm and hurricane guards.
TROPICAL STORMS SHOWS RARE DOUBLE THREAT TO GULF COAST
Tropical storm conditions are possible Monday in the Florida Keys.
Remains of an urban sign lying on the beach damaged by Tropical Storm Laura in Salinas, Puerto Rico, Saturday, August 22, 2020. (Associated Press)
If the two storms combine, it would be the first time two hurricanes have appeared in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time, according to records dating to at least 1900, said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
Marco was Sunday morning near the Gulf about 140 miles northwest of the western tip of Cuba and moving at about 12 mph with maximum sustained winds of 63 to 74 mph.
Marco is expected to intensify Sunday morning in a hurricane with winds up to 80 mph. It is likely to maintain its intensity as it makes landfall Monday and then weakens in a tropical depression by Tuesday, the hurricane center said.
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Laura moved northwest at about 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of about 51 to 63 mph Sunday morning and was expected to intensify a hurricane Tuesday morning and make landfall in the same general area as Marco by Wednesday night.
Still, “it is quite possible that the volatile shifts seen in the models could continue” and the storms could change course, the hurricane center said.
