The National Hurricane Center downgrades Marco to a Tropical Depression as it made landfall, and issues a tropical storm watch for southeast Louisiana’s coast ahead of Tropical Storm Laura, which is forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday.
The latest NHC advisory says, “The center of Tropical Storm Laura was located near latitude 22.7 North, longitude 84.0 West. Laura is moving toward the west-northwest near 20 mph (31 km/h) and this general motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next day or so. A turn toward the northwest is forecast by Wednesday, and a northwestward to north-northwestward motion should continue through Wednesday night. On the forecast track, the center of Laura will move away from Cuba and over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico overnight. Laura is then forecast to move over the central and northwestern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday night and Wednesday, and approach the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday night.”
The NHC says Tropical Storm Laura currently has sustained winds near 65 mph with higher wind gusts.