Hurricane Marco, Tropical Storm Laura bring chaos, uncertainty to North Texas forecast
North Texans should expect a lot of uncertainty in this week’s forecast as two storms take aim on the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Matt Bishop, a meteorologist, said Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura could create a chaotic mix of weather projections for the state.
Both systems are being driven by weak steering currents, the patterns that help meteorologists predict when and where a hurricane will go. At this point, Bishop said, forecasts are closer to best guesses than any form of certainty.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen such uncertainty,” Bishop said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any washouts in the area because of Marco or Laura, but we could still see some severe weather.”
Marco, a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to make landfall south of New Orleans on Monday before rapidly weakening to a tropical depression. It should continue to weaken as it moves west toward Texas, creating a 20% to 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms for Dallas and Tarrant counties by the afternoon Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Marco’s path is less certain than Laura’s.
Laura, which is currently a tropical storm, was moving toward Cuba on Sunday. Bishop said Laura is forecast to come ashore closer to the Texas-Louisiana border and move north, weakening as it goes.
North Texans could see rainfall and potential thunderstorms from that system on Thursday or Friday.
Bishop said that while chances are slim the area could see tropical tornadoes. While still dangerous, he said these tornadoes are not usually as large or prolonged as typical Texas springtime tornadoes.
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 3:00 PM.