2 Separate Hurricanes to Hit 2 Different US States This Weekend

There are three separate hurricane-level storms in the North America area this weekend, and two are expected to hit the United States. While Hurricane Hanna approaches southern Texas, Hurricane Douglas is moving towards Hawaii. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Gonzalo is drenching the Caribbean, though thankfully it seems to be weakening.

Tropical Storm Hanna officially strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday morning, according to a report by CNN. At the time of this writing, the massive storm is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is projected to make landfall on southern Texas — likely near Corpus Christi. On the other side of the continent, Hurricane Douglas is actually dropping in severity as it approaches Hawaii. It is expected to make landfall on Sunday morning, likely as a Category 1 storm as well.

Right now, Hurricane Hanna is the more immediate concern to meteorologists, with sustained wind speeds of 75 miles per hour on Saturday morning. It is the first hurricane to form in the Atlantic in the 2020 hurricane season, and it will likely continue to strengthen before it lands.

Hurricane Hanna is projected to land between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, Texas, the National Hurricane Center predicts. It will likely land in the late afternoon or early evening. A hurricane warning if officially in effect from Port Mansfield to Mesquite Bay, along with a storm surge warning. Experts say The water could rise as much as five feet in some areas, with six to 12 inches of rain expected in the area.

Hurricane Douglas is a bit of a different story, having peaked as a Category 4 Hurricane early on Friday. Right now, Douglas is a Category 2 storm, and scientists are hopeful it will drop to a Category 1 before it makes landfall. At the time of this writing, it has sustained wind speeds of 110 miles per hour, but it is projected to weaken steadily for the next 36 hours.

“Recent model trends indicate a northward shift to the path of the hurricane. Regardless of it’s exact track and whether it makes a direct landfall, severe impacts are still anticipated across the islands as the threats extend well away from the storm’s center,” a meteorologist told CNN. “Hurricane force winds extend 25 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles, meaning this doesn’t need to be a direct landfall to have serious consequences.”

Both of these storms follow Gonzalo, a storm that seemed like a threat to parts of the Caribbean until Saturday. Thankfully, the storm weakened before it could reach hurricane status, and meteorologists expect it to dissipate without much danger to human life.