On August 24, 2020, the twelfth and thirteenth named tropical storms of the unusually active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season bore down on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20 acquired this natural-color image of the two storms on August 23, 2020.
Hurricane forecasters warned that a weakening Tropical Storm Marco will bring substantial rains, gusty winds, and a dangerous storm surge to the coast between Morgan City, Louisiana, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The storm was expected to make landfall late on August 24.
Following close behind, Tropical Storm Laura, churned past Cuba and was poised to intensify to hurricane strength as it encountered favorable conditions in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In what would be a rare case of two tropical storms hitting the same region in quick succession, Laura will likely make landfall along the Texas-Louisiana border on August 26.
References & Resources
- NASA (2020 August 24) Marco â Atlantic Ocean. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- NASA (2020 August 24) Laura â Atlantic Ocean. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- National Hurricane Center (2020, August 24) Laura. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- National Hurricane Center (2020, August 24) Marco. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- Scientific American (2020, August 21) Recipe for a Busy Hurricane Season: Warmer Water, Cleaner Air. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- The Washington Post (2020, August 24) Marco and Laura take aim at Gulf Coast, threatening wide area from Louisiana to Texas. Accessed August 24, 2020.
- Yale Climate Connections (2020, August 23) Hurricane Marco forms in Gulf of Mexico; Tropical Storm Laura a formidable threat to U.S. Accessed August 24, 2020.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens , using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Text by Adam Voiland .
