Laura strengthened from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday (Aug 25) as it cut through the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward the Louisiana coast, where officials have ordered evacuations.
Forecasters said that Laura could become a major Category 3 hurricane late on Wednesday or early Thursday as it gathers energy from the Gulf's warm waters.
The region had been on alert for a "one-two punch" of back-to-back hurricanes that meteorologists had warned might pummel Louisiana and Texas, but the first system to arrive, Tropical Storm Marco, significantly weakened before making landfall Monday evening.
Even as Marco crossed the coast, most eyes were already on Laura, which unleashed heavy rainfall across Cuba and Jamaica. The hurricane is expected to increase in strength, with hurricane conditions possible from Port Bolivar, Texas, to west of Morgan City, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center, which said there was a risk of life-threatening storm surge from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Governor John Bel Edwards expressed relief that Louisiana would not be walloped by two hurricanes within 48 hoursa rare occurrence that would have posed formidable challenges for even the most seasoned veterans of Gulf Coast storms. Still, a Category 3 could cause major damage to parts of the state hit by the hurricane.
Marco had been a Category 1 hurricane Sunday, but it dissipated into a tropical storm on Monday before making landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River around 6 pm local time. It became a tropical depression about three hours afterwards.
"If I've got a message, it's not to assume that Laura is going to do a similar favour" and lose steam the way Marco did, Edwards said.
Mandatory evacuations have already begun throughout portions of Louisiana and Texas to prepare for Laura's potential landfall.
The areas within the storm's path that have issued mandatory evacuation orders include Port Arthur, Texas, which has the nation's largest oil refinery, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana, just across the state line. Oil and gas companies have also evacuated workers from offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
- NYTIMES