Governor John Bel Edwards held a live briefing Aug. 23 about Tropical Storm Laura, which will potentially make landfall in Louisiana on the cusp of being a category 3 hurricane. Edwards asked residents to be prepared for a storm that is one level higher than what’s predicted.
“We haven’t had a category 3 hurricane in Louisiana since Rita in 2005,” he said. “Keep in mind that this storm could be stronger than we previously thought.”
The first hurricane to arrive is Marco. The track will come in around the mouth of the Mississippi before making a turn to the west while hugging the coastline.
A National Weather Service representative also spoke at the briefing. Marco’s forecast has shifted southward with a forecasted sharper westward turn as it approaches the coast. It will approach the coast Monday as a category 1 hurricane. Within 48 hours Laura will come in behind Marco.
According to the NWS, Hurricane Marco is expected to maintain hurricane strength as it moves towards the Southeast Louisiana Coast Monday Afternoon. The storm is then forecast to move west northwest towards South Central Louisiana and Deep East Texas during the day Tuesday, weakening to a Tropical Depression as it does before moving into portions of Northeast Texas Tuesday Night into Wednesday. On this track, while rainfall will obviously begin increasing in coverage and intensity late Monday through Wednesday across our region, the greatest wind, tornado and flood threat from Marco should remain south and southeast of our region through Wednesday.
However, these threats will continue to be defined through the next 24 to 36 hours and will greatly be dependent on the track of Marco.
Tropical Storm Laura is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico early this week and make landfall on the Louisiana coast on Wednesday Night. Laura brings a more significant threat of flash flooding from heavy rainfall, strong winds gusts, and possible tornadoes across at least the southern half of the Four State Region as early as late Wednesday Night but especially Thursday into Thursday Night. Much like Marco, these threats associated with a landfalling Laura will continue to become better defined as confidence increases with the track of Laura.
Continue to closely monitor future updates for the latest
information as changes in the forecast may result in increasing
hazardous weather threats to our region.
