TAMPA — Two powerful tropical storms brewing in the Gulf of Mexico continued their trek towards the northern end of the nation’s Gulf Coast on Sunday, threatening back-to-back blows to Louisiana and East Texas early next week.
Never in recorded history have two hurricanes torn through the Gulf at the same time as as Laura and Marco threaten to do.
Tropical Storm Marco poses the most immediate threat, with the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center predicting the storm to reach Category 1 hurricane strength by the time it reaches Louisiana’s shores on Monday.
But an even scarier storm, Tropical Storm Laura, is tagging along behind, and could pummel the greater New Orleans area with a second hurricane in just three days, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Exactly which route Laura will take remains uncertain, forecasters said, and could make landfall anywhere from central Texas to Mississippi late Wednesday to early Thursday as a hurricane ranked Category 2 or higher.
Tropical Storm Marco is continuing to strengthen as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico, carrying sustained winds of about 70 mph, with higher gusts extending up to 60 miles away from its center, National Hurricane Center forecaster Andrew Latto said. Marco is expected to grow to a Category 1 hurricane today as it crosses the central Gulf of Mexico at about 13 mph, and should make landfall Monday in southeastern Louisiana.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for the Louisiana coastline, from Morgan City to the mouth of the Pearl River, between New Orleans and Gulfport.
Storm surge warnings are in effect from Morgan City east, ending near Biloxi, Mississippi. Residents of Grand Isle, in the southeastern tip of Louisiana, are under mandatory evacuation orders now that the National Hurricane Center is predicting the storm could cause sea level to rise several feet above land.
Marco is expected to dump up to six inches of rain in some areas of southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southern Alabama on Monday into Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Once the storm reaches land, though, Latto said it should weaken rapidly as it gradually turns toward the west-northwest Monday night and slowly creeps across southern Louisiana into eastern Texas.
And as Tropical Storm Marco is swept inland, Tropical Storm Laura will be barreling right behind, likely as a Category 2 storm or higher, forecasters said.
Laura is not only a stronger storm, but a bigger one too, forecaster Daniel Brown said. By noon on Sunday, Laura had already plowed northwest through Port au Prince at about 18 miles per hour, bringing 45 mph winds, torrential rains and life-threatening flooding early Sunday to Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola as it traveled toward Cuba.
The storm is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf on Monday night and early Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has shifted the projected path of Tropical Storm Laura more west, putting Southeast Texas in the center of the cone.
“Currently we are projecting a category 2 hurricane at landfall in southwest Louisiana late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning,” Brown’s forecast said.
The storm could dump up to one foot of rain on Hispaniola and Cuba today, carrying the potential to cause mudslides as well as flash flooding and urban flooding, Brown said. The National Weather Service has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the Bahamas and parts of the Florida Keys, from Ocean Reef to Key West and the Dry Tortugas including Florida Bay.
Those areas can expect one to three inches of rain today as Laura brushes past.
Though it won’t strike Florida directly, bands from Laura could increase the chance of rain and tornadoes for Tampa Bay on Monday and Tuesday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Davis.
The last time two storms made landfall in the U.S. within 24 hours of each other was in September 1933, during the Great Depession. The Cuba–Brownsville hurricane struck Cuba and then made its way to Brownsville, Texas
At the same time, a tropical storm landed at Cedar Key after hitting the Treasure Coast as a hurricane, slamming Jupiter, passing by Tampa, entering the Gulf waters and curving north.
Times staff writer Josh Fiallo contributed to this report.
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2020 Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Guide
HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane
PREPARE FOR COVID-19 AND THE STORM: The CDC's tips for this pandemic-hurricane season
PREPARE YOUR STUFF: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm
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PROTECT YOUR PETS: Your pets can’t get ready for a storm. That’s your job
NEED TO KNOW: Click here to find your evacuation zone and shelter
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