Gulf coast braced for two tropical storms in 24 hours next week – for the first time in 60 years

Weather systems could develop into hurricanes, say forecasters

Storms began developing on Thursday (Getty Images)

Two tropical depressions could hit the US gulf coast, possibly as hurricanes, in the same 24-hour period next week, for the first time in six decades.

The first weather system – which meteorologists have labelled Tropical Depression Thirteen (TD-13) – was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands early on Friday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph).

Forecasters have issued tropical storm watches for St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Saba and St. Eustatius.

The early, still uncertain track showed it potentially being near Florida by Monday, and southern Georgia and Alabama by Tuesday evening.

The second system – named Tropical Depression Fourteen (TD-14) – was around 30 miles (45 kilometers) north-northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph).

A tropical storm warning has been issued in Honduras from the border with Nicaragua westward to Puerto Castilla. A warning has also been posted in Nicaragua from Puerto Cabezas northward.

TD-14 is forecast to graze the Atlantic coast of Honduras, then curve northward to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula possibly at hurricane strength over the weekend.

It could then hit the south coasts of Louisiana and Texas by Tuesday evening, again possibly at hurricane strength.

“The longer-term forecast for TD13 looks to be complicated by the presence of another tropical system [TD 14] in the Gulf of Mexico next week,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.

“Another tropical system spinning in the Gulf will make the forecast track less certain, as tropical storms and hurricanes in close range of each other can alter the winds in the atmosphere and influence each others’ tracks.”

It has been some 60 years since two tropical depressions threatened the gulf coast at the same time, according to weather researcher Phil Klotzbach.

This happened on 18 June, 1959. “On that date, we had an unnamed tropical storm (e.g., added after the season) and Beulah,” Mr Klotzbach said. “We have never had two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico simultaneously.”

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Genevieve in the Pacific continued to weaken as it remained offshore from Mexico’s southern Baja California peninsula while sweeping the coast with strong winds and rain that carried the threat of dangerous flooding.

The hurricane centre said Genevieve’s maximum sustained winds had dropped to 50 mph (85 kph) Friday morning, and it was centred about 130 miles (210 kilometres) west-southwest of Cabo San Lazaro. It was moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).

The storm knocked out power and phone service to a large part of the Los Cabos area, flooded streets in poor neighbourhoods and toppled palms in the tourist zone. High surf claimed two lives Tuesday as the storm approached the area.

Baja California Sur state officials said 15,000 foreign tourists were in the state, most in the Los Cabos region, which earlier had almost been emptied of visitors by pandemic restrictions.

Additional reporting by Associated Press