Tropical Storm Marco Approaches Gulf Coast, Laura Follows As Potential Hurricane

Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Marco soaked portions of the Gulf Coast on Monday, one of two systems threatening a historic one-two punch in the region.

After spending much of the day Sunday as a hurricane, Marco was likely to make landfall Monday afternoon or evening in Louisiana as a tropical storm, forecasters said.

And, then, Tropical Storm Laura is expected to reach hurricane status before it roars toward the Gulf Coast on Wednesday and Thursday.

Laura may end up being much more of a big storm than Marco, forecasters said.

For the residents of the Louisiana coast, “they’re certainly lucky that Marco is not worse than it is,” University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said Monday. “This will come and go and they can get ready for Laura. That’ll be the main attraction.”