Tropical storms head to Gulf of Mexico

FE Team | Published: August 23, 2020 23:33:42

In an image provided by NOAA, showing two major storms in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time — New York Times

MEXICO CITY, Aug 23 (New York Times): Tropical Storms Marco and Laura continued to churn in the Caribbean on Saturday, prompting a wave of warnings and watches for several countries and leading the governor of Louisiana to declare a state of emergency.
Marco on Saturday was about 110 miles northwest of the western tip of Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, the National Hurricane Centre said Saturday night.
"It's looking pretty organized," said Joel Cline, tropical program coordinator for the National Weather Service. "It's expected to become a hurricane later today or tonight."
Cline said it was possible that both storms would become hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico as early as Monday. He added that it would be "pretty unusual" and that the last time it happened was in 1933. The last time a hurricane and a tropical storm were both in the Gulf of Mexico was in 1959, he said.
Dennis Feltgen, meteorologist with the National Hurricane Centre, on Friday quashed social media speculation that the storms would collide forming a single monster storm.
"They cannot merge," he said. "They actually repel each other because of the rotations."
Marco may strengthen over the next two days but begin to weaken by Monday or Tuesday, the centre said. The storm was expected to produce from 1 to 4 inches of rain, with some isolated amounts of 6 inches, across the eastern portions of Mexico, forecasters said.
In response to Marco, the government of Cuba issued a tropical storm warning for the province of Pinar del Rio, the centre said. A tropical storm warning was also in effect for Cancun to Dzilam, Mexico.
A hurricane watch was issued across parts of coastal Louisiana, including New Orleans, to the Mississippi-Alabama border.
"By late in the day on Monday, it should be very, very close to Louisiana, Texas coastlines and probably go down to a tropical storm at that time," Cline said of Marco.
Gov John Bel Edwards of Louisiana on Saturday requested a federal emergency declaration from the White House, as he warned that Marco and Laura were forecast to affect the state in quick sequence.