U.S. National Hurricane Center says tropical storm Marco has become a hurricane
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Marco became a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico Sunday on a path toward the Louisiana coast.
Tropical Storm Laura battered the Dominican Republic and Haiti and headed to the same part of the U.S. coast, also as a potential hurricane.
{1PM Sun} Marco is now a hurricane with winds of 75 mph.. Marco is still expected to make landfall in Louisiana. Laura: The track has shifted further west and is now forecast to become a cat. 2 hurricane sometime overnight Wed. Keep an eye out! #Tropics pic.twitter.com/0MMbXEhCSk
— KRGV First Warn 5 (@KRGV_Weather) August 23, 2020
It would be the first time two hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico simultaneously, according to records dating to at least 1900, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
The National Hurricane Center said Marco was about 300 miles (480 kilometers) south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and heading north-northwest at 14 miles per hour (22kph), packing winds of 75 miles per hour (120kph). The center warned of life-threatening storm surges and hurricane-force winds along the Gulf Coast.