Latest on Laura

While Louisiana has bid a strong "good riddance" to Hurricane Laura, the killer storm is moving east toward the nation's capital and the Atlantic Ocean. As of Friday morning (Aug. 28), Laura was in northeast Arkansas as a "tropical depression" with sustained winds of 29 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph.

The storm is projected to pass through the center of Kentucky at the same strength during the day. On Saturday the storm will hit Charleston, W.Va., and pass between Washington, D.C., and Richmond before entering the Mid-Atlantic where it will pick up strength.

By Sunday night Laura will be an "extratropical" storm with sustained winds of 52 mph and gusts of 63 mph as it passes overwater south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is expected to be at about that strength when it makes landfall again, striking St. John's, Newfoundland/Labrador. around 7 p.m. Sept. 1.

There are currently two possible storm systems in the early stages of development between the coasts of Africa and South America. If they develop into tropical storms, they're current projected paths would carry them into the Gulf as Nana and Omar. National Hurricane Center forecasters give the disturbances only a 30 percent chance of developing over the next five days but are monitoring them.

The 2020 "hurricane season" has produced 13 named storms, including three hurricanes that have hit the U.S. -- Hanna, Isaias and Laura -- since June 1. The average year sees 12 storms from June through November.

From June 1 to Aug. 26 there have been 37 "named storm" days. Only three other years had more storm days by this time -- 1995, 2005 and 2008.