gary tuchman is in lake charles, louisiana but first, the forecast from tom sater. >> we're looking at an update in the last hour where the pressure is dropping which means laura is getting stronger and the winds increased from 145 to 150 miles per hour. that's only seven miles per hour away from a category 5. those that decided to hold out and hang through this are not going to know the difference. laura is joining an elite group, a small elite group of hurricanes that are infamous for their tragic loss of life and property taking the same path as rita in 2005, rita took of course, the loss of life and left in its wake $18 billion worth of economic losses 15 years ago. this is moving in with such a force, still looking between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. to change topography and alter the coastline and dissolve barrier islands. it looks like it's making its way just to the east of the border between 2:00 and 3:00

tom sater joins me now with more on the path of the hurricane as it moves ashore. i know you've had a busy night. the superlatives in trying to describe this hurricane as it makes landfall are also out of

well, tom sater joins me now again with more on all of this. tom, i know a little earlier i wanted to ask you about the comparisons here between laura and katrina. >> okay. >> what are we looking at? >> that's a great question, because everybody remembers those images and how harrowing they were, and we'll probably see some of those images tomorrow, believe it or not. 2005. it was a crazy season. not only did we have katrina, we had rita. many locations, this took the same path as rita. rita left in its wake not only the loss of precious lives but $18 billion in economic losses. that was 15 years ago. same year we went through the entire alphabet. we went into the greek alphabet for six letters. the forecast for this year is to be just as bad if not worst. we're breaking records for the earliest fifth named storm, seventh, katrina in the same year, katrina was a strong category 5, stronger than laura, but it was way out into the gulf waters here. when it made landfall, it made landfall as a category strong. so not as strong as landfall. however,

our meteorologist tom sater is jonning us. tom, what's the latest on these two storms? >> a lot has changed, wolf, since the 5:00 a.m. advisory from the national hurricane center. we were expecting compared to the newest advisory, marco is a category 1 expected to make landfall tomorrow afternoon in the parishes of louisiana as a category 1 hurricane and then 48 hours later laura which is a tropical storm to a strong category 2 hurricane. this is still going to be the case with laura but things changed with marco. we believe we're running into an area, an environment with sheer. winds come across the systems and want to break them down. if marco can contain its status as a category 1 landfall is still expected up in louisiana tomorrow afternoon, late tomorrow afternoon. but getting into this dry air now it seems that marco wants to fade away, lose strength and then stay offshore possibly drifting westward and could fizzle out possibly. there's evacuation orders. warnin warnings issued now more westward. but again, if it starts to lose strength it's still going to add so

cnn meteorologist tom sater joins me now. what are the developments on did two storms that seem to be approaching one state a few days apart from each other? >> within 48 hours. in fact, we have never had two hurricanes in the gulf simultaneously. by the time laura reaches the gulf marco will make land fall. it looks like marco as a category 1 hurricane remains at that status. laura is moving through the caribbean, 500,000 power dominican republic. massive land slides. homes destroyed. marco, takes the winds and the water that's upwelling through louisiana parishes. maybe 5 1/2, 6 feet and also the strong winds that will be knocking out power. remember three weeks ago, knocked out power to 3.3 million. marco tomorrow afternoon. warnings and watches. this is extended with laura into the gulf. big concerns in the coming days. surge 4 to 6 feet, a big deal in the parishes. but again, laura which is only a tropical storm doesn't care about the high terrain and fighting it. usually it rips them apart. running through cuba tonight

cnn meteorologist tom sater is tracking the latest developments for us. you got an update moments ago. >> marco is still a hurricane, a category 1, laura is a tropical storm and expected to possibly make landfall within 48 hours. behind marco and be stronger. who had this on the 2020 bingo card? we'll start with marco and it will be making landfall first. when we look at this, 280 miles south/southeast of the mouth of the mississippi. it is a category 1, and as it makes the way to land, late tomorrow afternoon we could see southeast louisiana parishes easily have winds hurricane strength, 74, 75, 76 maybe strong ler. bright red are hurricane warnings and watches to the east. we will have ahead for when laura approaches but let's break this down. 4 to 6-foot storm surge. devastating the east coast with over 3.3 million losing power weeks ago and the same surge but the low-lying ground to hit very hard. half a million people without power in dominican republic and massive landslides. this storm laura doesn't care about mountains and even though warnings for

our metrologist tom sater is over at the cnn weather center for us. it seems florida is getting a break right now, but where is the storm heading next because it's continuing to move. >> in the last advisory, wolf, the winds have increased from 65 to 70 miles per hour. it's trying to gain a little bit more intensity. if you notice how white the cloud cover is, the high canopy of clouds, it's all been offshore. the center is about 50 miles from cape canaveral. it's going to keep the adverse weather offshore. drier air has been trying to infiltrate this since yesterday and doing a good job. even though we've got squalls of showers moving in, it really looks like this is going to run parallel to florida and give them a big break. authorities in florida and north carolina are sharing information about those getting to the evacuation centers, best how to go about doing their business, the protocols. we've got evacuation orders up into north carolina. but all of this rain will stay off. the dry air is going to keep it that way. but it's got a good 25, 26 ho

our meteorologist tom sater is over at the cnn weather center for us.s the latest forecast as you're tracking this horrible situation, just what we don't need in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. >> yeah, absolutely. yesterday, wolf, when we had our chat, this is carrying with it boat loads of moisture and a tremendous amount of energy. the tonight is tonight already occurring around charleston. it is only about 50 miles from charleston and 90 miles from myrtle beach. overnight the problem is the flooding in the carolinas. it explodes tomorrow afternoon in the northeast. tornado watch already in effect until 2:00 a.m. coastal areas of south north carolina. flooded roads already closed town in charleston. high tide at 9:00 p.m. with a full moon. surge is now lifted and increased 3 to 5 feet in the coastal area. i'm leaning toward the high end of this. for the first time we're something moisture wrap around the center. that means it is getting stronger and most likely will be a hurricane before landfall. give or take an hour around midnight near the bo