We're very familiar with hurricane season, and many watch the predictions that come in late spring to prepare for how many storms can be expected and how many hurricanes and serious storms we may have to prepare for. Currently there are two storms in the Gulf, Tropical Storm Laura and Hurricane Marco. It's an unusual situation, with one storm tracking behind the other by twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

When the storms were still developing there were concerns that they could combine to become one large storm, which is rare. If one storm is significantly larger than the other one, the smaller storm will likely be absorbed by the larger storm. When the storms are close in strength, they most often spin around each other before shooting off on their own paths. They circulate around a vortex in the center of the storms, so the storms circle the vortex independently, like a pair of skaters who have locked hands and are spinning together. This is the Fujiwhara effect, when the storms occur at the same time and come close enough together to exist simultaneously. On very rare occasions the two storms will become one, with an additive effect.

Because Tropical Storm Laura is a day or two behind Hurricane Marco, there is no longer the concern that the two storms will merge. However, there are many other considerations. Aside from the standard issues of securing the house, gathering medications, important documents and preparing for evacuation, insureds must consider the issues involved in doing all this during a pandemic.