Governor: Marco fizzles, so use time to get ready for Laura

As Tropical Storm Marco continued to weaken, Gov. John Bel Edwards warned residents Monday evening to use the time that would have been lost to prepare for what seems likely to be a far more dangerous Hurricane Laura.

Once more, Edwards used the name of an infamous storm to describe what could be coming ashore in southwest Louisiana late Wednesday or early Thursday.

"This has the potential to be the strongest to hit since Hurricane Rita," Edwards said.

Marco, which was approaching the southeast Louisiana coach as the governor conducted Monday's press conference, is still expected to bring gusty winds and rainfall of 2-4 inches with up to 7 inches in isolated areas.

But the National Hurricane Center guidance says Marco is likely to weaken into a tropical depression shortly after coming onto land. That means the sustained winds would be less than 39 mph.

Unlike earlier track predictions, the current forecast is that Marco will be over land much of the time after it makes landfall.

Laura was still a tropical storm at 6 p.m., but it is expected to strengthen after it clears Cuba and gains energy from the warm water of the open Gulf.

Meteorologists say Laura could come ashore as a strong Category 2 hurricane or even a Category 3 hurricane. A strong Category 2 hurricane could have sustained winds of 100-110 mph. A Category 3 hurricane would have sustained winds of at least 110 mph.

The storm is also expected to bring up to 10 inches of rain across a wide area and up to 15 inches in isolated spots. The risk of flooding will be increased by the expected 7- to 11-foot storm surge near the southwest Louisiana coast.

The storm surge will prevent rivers such as the Mermentau and the Calcasieu from carrying away rainwater runoff, Edwards said.

Laura is also a big storm that, on its current forecast track, would bring 39-74 mph winds all the way from Houston to Baton Rouge. If the storm comes ashore 40 or 50 miles to the east, hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or greater could be felt in Baton Rouge, the governor said.

Edwards urged residents to continue their hurricane preparations. They should include face masks and hand sanitizer.

The preparations should not include hurricane parties, the governor said, which are a bad idea anytime and "an absolutely horrible idea" now because of the risk of COVID-19 spread.

Hurricane Rita came ashore about a month after the devastation of Katrina in 2005. Rita was a Category 5 storm with 180 mph winds for a while before hitting the Texas-Louisiana border as a Category 3 hurricane packing winds of 115 mph.