Houston remains in “cone” for two storms, attention shifts to Laura

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Tropical Storm Marco rapidly intensified overnight, and that has resulted in a major shift in the storm’s projected path away from Houston.

At 3:00 a.m., the National Hurricane Center announced that Marco is moving north-northwestward across the southern Gulf of Mexico at 13mph.

The forecast cone for Marco’s landfall shifted nearly 350 miles to the east and is now aimed at New Orleans instead of Houston. Marco is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane today or early tomorrow.

The system is expected to approach the central Gulf coast Monday afternoon, and Hurricane Watch is in effect from Intracoastal City Louisiana eastward to the Mississippi/Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Metropolitan New Orleans. There are no watches in effect for the Texas coastline.

Tropical Storm Laura

At 4 a.m. Saturday, Tropical Storm Laura was around 95 miles east of Port Au Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 MPH and was moving west-northwest at 18 mph. The minimum central pressure is 1005 MB.

The forecast cone for Laura stretches along the Gulf coast from southeast Texas to Alabama, but it is centered on Louisiana. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and many other islands in the region. A Tropical Storm Watch is now in effect for the Florida Keys. Heavy rains continue over most of Puerto Rico.

The long-range track and intensity of Laura remain more uncertain as the storm interacts with Hispaniola and Cuba through Sunday. Rainfall and wind impacts are expected for Cuba, the Bahamas, and Florida on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Laura is expected to make landfall as a hurricane along the Gulf Coast as early as Wednesday. Impacts to Texas are uncertain but cannot be ruled out. If the storm tracks south of Cuba, it will have a greater chance of reaching Texas. If it tracks north of Cuba, it will likely stay safely east of Texas.

At this time it is not anticipated that Marco will have much if any interaction with Laura now that Marco is moving quickly toward the Central Gulf Coast.

In the Houston area, we have some hot and mostly dry weather to prepare for whatever comes our way regarding the tropical weather. Isolated strong thunderstorms could pop up Sunday and Monday afternoons with highs in the mid 90s. If we get any rain from Marco, it would be late Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

We are entering peak hurricane season and all indications are that the already record-breaking season could get even busier over the coming weeks. Officially, the Atlantic hurricane season lasts through the end of November.