Tracking the Tropics: Tropical Storms Marco and Laura on paths to Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS – We’re tracking evolution on paths of Tropical Storms Laura and Marco as they move closer to Louisiana. Better news tonight to report with Marco weakening, but this is alongside a growing concern for Laura strengthening.
Marco is forecast to make landfall as a tropical storm Monday afternoon or evening. This will likely be a small, compact system with the biggest impacts near and east of its center.
Laura looks like a much bigger threat at landfall as a category 2 or potentially 3 storm. The track shifted east again in the National Hurricane Center’s most recent advisory. That could still change over the next couple of days as a lot of uncertainty remains. This system will need to be watched closely.
The main impact will probably be storm surge, especially from the mouth of the river through the MS coast. We could see levels of 4-6 feet as Marco moves north in these spots. The rest of the areas would be in the 2-4 foot range.
With Marco being a compact storm, rain would be the biggest issue near and east of the center. This means most likely east of New Orleans. Southern Mississippi could get several inches of rain which could lead to inland flooding issues from heavy rain. The strongest winds would also be in this area with the highest chance of power outages.