re: Laura - President Trump visits Lake Charles, Louisiana for Hurricane Response Update

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What does the "M" stand for on the track it has for Laura?

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The initial motion is west-northwestward or 290/14 kt. The
hurricane is currently on the south side of a large-deep layer ridge
over the southeastern United States, and it is moving toward a break
in the ridge caused by mid- to -upper-level troughing over Texas and
the southern Great Plains. The current and forecast synoptic
pattern should steer Laura west-northwestward today followed by a
turn toward the northwest tonight and toward the north by Wednesday
night and Thursday. This will result in the hurricane making
landfall in the area of southwestern Louisiana or the upper Texas
coast late Wednesday night or Thursday morning. The new forecast
track before landfall has been nudged a little to the west of the
previous track in response to a westward nudge in the guidance.
However, it still lies a little east of the consensus models at the
time of landfall. After landfall, Laura is expected to recurve into
the westerlies and move eastward through the Tennessee Valley and
the mid-Atlantic States.

The hurricane currently looks a little ragged, with little or no
convection outside of the central dense overcast and the southern
quadrant banding. This may be due to dry air in the vicinity and
some light northerly shear. Conditions appear generally favorable
for strengthening during the next 36 h, and the new intensity
forecast calls for Laura to become a major hurricane during this
time. The global model are in good agreement that the hurricane
should encounter increasing shear in the last 12 h before landfall,
although the potential impacts on the landfall intensity are
unclear. After landfall, Laura should weaken through the 96 h
point. After that, some re-intensification is expected as the
storm becomes extratropical.

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quote:

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What does the "M" stand for on the track it has for Laura?

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quote:

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The hurricane currently looks a little ragged, with little or no
convection outside of the central dense overcast and the southern
quadrant banding.

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