In a First, 2 Hurricanes Could Hit Gulf of Mexico Next Week
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:35 pmThe U.S. National Weather Service is predicting that two storm systems in and around the Caribbean Sea will strengthen and could both be hurricanes next week in the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Hurricane Center reports Tropical Storm Laura formed early Friday just northeast of the Lesser Antilles, and by last report, was 280 kilometers east of the northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean.
This satellite image released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Laura in the North Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 21, 2020.
The Washington Post reports Laura is the earliest forming “L” named storm on record, beating out Tropical Storm Luis, which formed Aug. 29, 1995. The season has already featured the earliest-forming C, E, F, G, H, I, J and K storms on record.
Meanwhile, further to the west, in the southern Caribbean, forecasters are watching Tropical Depression 14, which they say will strengthen into Tropical Storm Marco later Friday.
Forecasters say both storms are likely to move into the Gulf of Mexico and become hurricanes by early next week. If they do, it will be the first time two hurricanes are in the gulf at the same time in the satellite era.
Some computer models say both hurricanes could hit the southern United States at roughly the same time, or could interact with each other in some way, depending on their size.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the northern Leeward Islands and the southeast Bahamas, where tropical storm conditions from Laura could arrive as early as Friday night.
Tropical Depression 14 is expected reach the eastern Yucatan coast by midday Saturday, where tropical storm warnings are in effect. It is forecast to move into the south-central Gulf of Mexico by Sunday afternoon.