Tropical Trouble Appears Imminent Along The Gulf Coast Next Week
For late August, it wasn’t too hot across central and south Alabama Saturday. High temperatures topped out in the upper 80s to around 90°. Scattered showers and storms formed during the afternoon, and some linger through this evening. However, most of the rain ends after midnight. The sky becomes mostly to partly cloudy, with lows near 70°.
Sunday morning looks mainly dry, but expect scattered afternoon showers and storms. Clouds and rain should hold highs in the mid to upper 80s. Most of the showers and storms taper off Sunday night, with lows settling in the low 70s.
Tropical storm Marco formed from tropical depression 14 in the western Caribbean late Friday night. It’s moving through the Yucatan Channel now, and enters the gulf of Mexico tonight. At 4PM Saturday, it had max sustained winds near 65 mph. Additional strengthening to a Category 1 hurricane is forecast prior to landfall. The official track from the National Hurricane Center shifted significantly east between Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. It appeared Marco was heading for the Texas coastline early next week on Saturday morning. However, it now appears Marco may move onshore in southeast Louisiana. Despite the proximity to southeast Alabama, Alabama is not included within the forecast cone at this time. However, impacts extend well outside the cone. Also, the eventual track of the storm is still in question, with models offering a wide range of possibilities.
It’s too early to determine specific direct tropical impacts, if any, to our area from Marco. However, especially with the most recent forecast track, we have to watch this storm closely.
Laura remains a tropical storm between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola in the northern Caribbean. It continues west-northwest over Hispaniola and Cuba Sunday through Monday. Additional strengthening isn’t expected while it moves over the islands. However, the NHC forecast calls for Laura to become a category 1 hurricane once it moves into the warm open gulf water on Tuesday. It could approach the Louisiana coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday.
Laura turns north after landfall, keeping the core of the storm closer to Alabama. Widespread showers and storms seem likely Wednesday and Thursday. We may have to keep an eye on any stronger convective bands that extend east of Laura’s center into Alabama those days. That’s where a spin-up tornado threat could materialize. Again, as with Marco, it’s still early to determine specific direct impacts to our area from Laura. We’ll monitor the storm’s progress and forecast track updates closely.
At the moment, it appears Marco and Laura could deliver a one-two punch to the north-central Gulf coast next week. Their eventual tracks play a large role in our forecast next week. At the least, it looks like rain chances remain elevated each day. High temperatures could reach the low 90s each day. Even after the systems dissipate, daytime shower and storm coverage could remain high next weekend.
