Next week there could be two hurricanes churning in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in recorded history.
If that wasn’t peak 2020, there’s this:
They’re not going to get along with one another.
The tropical systems will likely batter and weaken each other — and one could even take the other out.
A lot of meteorological factors have to align before that historic first becomes a reality, said Colorado State University research professor Phil Klotzbach, one of the planet’s foremost hurricane forecasters.
“There’s still quite a bit of uncertainty, but we could be seeing a historic event next week,” he said. “But right now it’s a hypothetical.”
Tropical Storm Laura, which formed Friday, is forecast to veer further west away from Tampa Bay and Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. Friday advisory. It was moving west at 17 mph while generating maximum sustained winds of up to 45 mph.
If Laura survives its Sunday-Monday trek over the mountains of Hispaniola and Cuba, it is expected to reach Category 1 strength in the warm eastern Gulf waters Tuesday. It’s path is aimed at the Louisiana-Mississippi border, with Pensacola the only part of Florida still caught in the cone of uncertainty.
Tropical Depression 14 will enter the western Gulf on Sunday and is projected to grow into Hurricane Marco on Tuesday. Its path is also veering west, right at the center of the Texas coastline. It was moving northwest at nearly 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
Both face several obstacles that could keep them from powering up — but both are still forecast to reach hurricane strength next week. Spectrum Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay has his doubts, though.
“We’re not even sure (Laura) will survive over the islands,” he said. “It may not even make it to the Keys.”