Two major tropical storm systems are churning toward the southern United States with forecast tracks that show potential for two side-by-side hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico by early next week.
Tropical Storm Laura formed Friday in the eastern Caribbean and could become a hurricane that threatens all of Florida's Gulf Coast and potentially hit the state sometime between Monday and Tuesday.
A little farther west, Tropical Depression 14 was off the coast of Honduras Friday and appears to be tracking toward the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. The storm will cross Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday before moving into the Gulf, possibly at or near hurricane strength, and make landfall by Tuesday or Wednesday.
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“Both will become a hurricane, and possibly two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time,” said FOX 35 meteorologist Jayme King, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says two tropical cyclones in the Gulf at the same time is rare but not unheard of ― and cited 1933 as the most recent time that the phenomenon occurred, according to ABC News.
If Depression 14 does become a hurricane, the next to be named is Marco.
On Friday morning, the storm was centered about 160 miles east of the Honduran resort island of Roatan with 35 mph winds. It was headed west-northwest at 12 mph.
A hurricane watch was already in effect for the strip of coast containing Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun, as well as Cozumel island.
Laura, meanwhile, was barreling toward Florida and centered about 230 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was heading west at 21 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
A tropical storm watch was issued for part of the Caribbean islands on Thursday, and Florida residents are keeping close watch.
Forecasters describe Laura as disorganized and say it's too soon to predict how the storm's track will develop over the next couple days, the Hurricane Center said.
The current forecast track predicts Laura to move just north of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, across the Bahamas en route to the U.S., according to The Associated Press.
The storm could potentially weaken or become a major hurricane in that time.
Whether or not the storm moves over the terrain of Greater Antilles this weekend will factor into its track and intensity, the National Hurricane Center said.
“Some of the models have no chance in the world of ever coming to be,” said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. “The only thing we want people to focus on is the forecast track, and that’s only going to happen once we get a tropical cyclone. Right now, there’s absolutely no model consensus at all.”
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