There hasn't been any major changes in the forecast for Laura or Marco over the last 12 hours. Laura is currently over the western edge of Hispaniola and should reemerge over water soon. Even though it is over land it looks fairly healthy. This is concerning because its future track may be along or just offshore of the southern coast of Cuba which could limit land interaction and allow for strengthening before it is in the open Gulf Monday night. The official forecast calls for Laura to be a strong category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds at landfall near the Texas/Louisiana border late Wednesday or early Thursday. In their discussion the NHC cautions that their intensity forecast could be on the low side and to also expect adjustments to the track beyond 3 days, where and when it starts to make the right turn will make a big difference on where it makes landfall. There's really nothing to impede strengthening in the Gulf so unless Laura starts to fall apart across Cuba I think we will see significant upward adjustments to the intensity forecast in the coming days.
Marco is continuing its trek to the north-northwest across the Gulf and should be a hurricane soon. No major changes in the intensity or track forecasts are expected and Marco should make landfall in eastern Louisiana as a weak hurricane or strong tropical storm tomorrow.
Laura should be taken very seriously by everyone from Louisiana through the central Texas coast, I'd be watching closely from Mississippi also. The forecast cone still covers a large area and it is more likely than not that Laura will have major impacts where it makes landfall.
Enjoy your Sunday, I'll send out another update by tomorrow morning.
Chris
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