US faces threat of two Caribbean storms hitting simultaneously as hurricanes

A tropical storm and a tropical depression at opposite ends of the Caribbean were projected to possibly become hurricanes, major storms which could hit the US simultaneously after drenching much of the region. The US mainland has not been hit by two tropical storms simultaneously since September 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. Then, a category 3 hurricane hit Brownsville, Texas, while a tropical storm came ashore at Cedar Key, Florida. On Friday morning, Tropical Depression 13 became Tropical Storm Laura as it neared the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico as a disorganized storm with an uncertain future. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it might degenerate, or might blow up into a major hurricane headed for Florida and the Gulf coast. The current forecast track, highly uncertain, would carry Laura just north of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, across the Bahamas and then to southern Florida by Monday or Tuesday and the Gulf coast. On Friday morning, it was centered about 255 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and was heading west-northwest at 21mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 35mph. Tropical Depression 14, meanwhile, was nearing the coast of Honduras. The NHC said it was expected to veer north-west and cut across Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula on Sunday, possibly at or near hurricane force. A hurricane watch was in effect for the strip of coast containing Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancún, as well as Cozumel island. From there, the long-term forecast track would carry it to the US Gulf coast, perhaps Texas or Louisiana, by Tuesday or Wednesday – again, possibly, as a hurricane. En route, it is likely to soak flood-prone eastern Honduras, the Cayman Islands and parts of the Yucatán. On Friday morning, it was centered about 160 miles east of the Honduran resort island of Roatán with 35mph winds. It was headed west-north-west at 12 mph. In the Pacific, former category 4 Hurricane Genevieve was weakening and heading further out to sea after a glancing blow to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, where it caused at least two deaths and knocked out power to a large part of the Los Cabos area. The NHC said Genevieve, now a tropical source, had maximum sustained winds of 45mph and was centered about 145 miles west of Cabo San Lázaro, Mexico. It was heading west-northwest at 9mph.


All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/21/us-hurricanes-simultaneous-tropical-storm-laura


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