JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Less than 24 hours after Marco strengthened into a hurricane Sunday afternoon, and the National Hurricane Center said its sustained winds had dropped to 60 mph and downgraded it to a tropical storm. Monday morning, the northern Gulf Coast began feeling heavy rainfall and gusty winds from the storm.
Forecasters warn the system could bring a storm surge and damaging winds to coastal Mississippi and Louisiana through Tuesday.
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As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Marco was down graded to a Post-Tropical Storms 110 miles south-southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana. Marco was moving west at 10 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. This was the last update from the NHC.
Strong southwesterly shear is took its toll on Marco, with the edge of the nearest deep convection now displaced 50 nautical miles northeast of the exposed circulation center.
Marco is forecast to approach the coast of Louisiana and then degenerate into a remnant low on Today.
10 am CDT Monday, August 24 Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Marco: Gusty winds, dangerous storm surge, and heavy rains are expected along portions of the northern Gulf coast later today. https://t.co/rDBQ2f3SAx pic.twitter.com/lLUBjzytKj
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 24, 2020
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The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.
Marco is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 3 to 5 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 7 inches across the Central U.S. Gulf Coast through Tuesday.
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle and can vary greatly over short distances.
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including Lake Borgne. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Intracoastal City to the Mississippi/Alabama border, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans.
Tornadoes are possible Monday from southeast Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle.