After a day like a hurricane, Tropical Storm approached Marco Louisiana for an expected landfall around noon Monday, while Tropical Storm Laura was predicted to run off the south coast of Cuba the day before entering the Gulf of Mexico and heading for the same line of ‘ the U.S. coast later in the week, likely as a hurricane and perhaps a powerful one.
Laura caused the deaths of at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, while seizing power and causing flooding in the two peoples that share the island of Hispaniola.
Marco had grown into a hurricane early Sunday, but the National Hurricane Center said its sustained wind dropped to 70 mph after nightfall. The center warned that Marco could still cause life-threatening storm surges and dangerous winds along the Gulf Coast.
Marco was centered about 115 miles southeast of the Mississippi River estuary and went northwest early Monday morning at 10 mph.
Laura lay 175 kilometers east-southeast of Cayo Largo during the day on Monday and had a maximum sustained wind of 65 mph. It shot west-northwest at 21 mph and was predicted to intensify in a hurricane by Tuesday morning as it followed a path that was likely to take Wednesday night to the coast of Louisiana, forecasters said.
Water producer David Parkinson of CBS News claims that “Houston and Galveston are still very much in the danger zone for a landslide. It is even possible that we may have one as far south as Corpus Christi (Texas). Somewhere it will be 10-15 get “of rain from Laura in a very short time.
RICARDO ROJAS / REUTERS
“The further west the storm goes, the later (landfall) it will be, and the stronger it will be.
“I would expect a Category 3 landfall, but the water (in the Gulf) is warm enough for a 4+. A trail toward Louisiana will probably net us a Cat 2 landfall.
“Storm surge will be a concern with the water level really no time to go down to Marco.”
Despite Marco’s weakening, a storm surge warning remained in place from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. A tropical storm warning included Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, and metropolitan New Orleans.
A storm surge of up to 4 feet was forecast for parts of coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a state of emergency in 23 counties on Sunday when the storms hit. The coronavirus pandemic complicates matters.
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