Tropical Storm Marco Forms in the Bay of Campeche

Tropical Storm Marco has rapidly formed in the Bay of Campeche.  Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph.  This morning Marco was nothing more than a low pressure area.  Now, it has the potential to become a hurricane before making landfall in southern Mexico.  Marco is currently a very small tropical system in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.  It is much smaller than the tropical storm seen in the Pacific Ocean.

Tropical Storm Marco 10-06-2008

Here is what the NHC thinks about Tropical Storm Marco:

A TIMELY MISSION FROM THE AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTERS...  
TASKED WITH LITTLE ADVANCE NOTICE...REVEALS THAT THE DEPRESSION  
OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO HAS INTENSIFIED INTO A  
TROPICAL STORM.  PEAK SFMR WINDS WERE 53 KT AND PEAK FLIGHT-LEVEL  
WINDS WERE 61 KT.  THESE DATA SUPPORT AN INITIAL INTENSITY OF  
ABOUT 55 KT.  SINCE THE OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT ARE  
SEEMINGLY FAVORABLE...ADDITIONAL INTENSIFICATION IS SHOWN IN LINE  
WITH THE LATEST SHIPS GUIDANCE.  MARCO COULD BE NEAR HURRICANE  
STRENGTH AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST...AND ACCORDINGLY A HURRICANE  
WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR A PORTION OF THE GULF COAST OF MEXICO.  
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT IF THE CURRENT INTENSIFICATION TREND  
CONTINUES...IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO ISSUE A HURRICANE WARNING LATER  
THIS EVENING.  

INITIAL MOTION...295/9...IS A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT OF THE PREVIOUS  
ESTIMATE.  DYNAMICAL GUIDANCE DOES NOT INDICATE MUCH CHANGE IN  
HEADING OVER THE NEXT 1-2 DAYS DUE TO A PRONOUNCED MID-LEVEL RIDGE  
TO THE NORTH OF MARCO.  THE OFFICIAL FORECAST TRACK IS SHIFTED ONLY  
SLIGHTLY TO RIGHT OF THE PREVIOUS ONE AND IS ROUGHLY IN THE MIDDLE  
OF THE TRACK GUIDANCE SUITE.  

WE THANK THE 53RD WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON FOR THEIR QUICK  
RESPONSE TO OUR SHORT-NOTICE REQUEST TO INVESTIGATE THIS STORM.  

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS  

INITIAL      06/2100Z 19.5N  94.7W    55 KT  
 12HR VT     07/0600Z 20.0N  95.6W    60 KT  
 24HR VT     07/1800Z 20.5N  97.0W    60 KT  
 36HR VT     08/0600Z 21.0N  98.5W    25 KT...INLAND  
 48HR VT     08/1800Z...DISSIPATED