Hurricane Gustav in GOM & TS Hanna

NOAA/NHC ^ | Saturday August 30, 2008 | NOAA/NHC

[NautiNurse]

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Gustav emerged into the Gulf of Mexico from the west coast of Cuba Saturday evening. The storm forecast predicts landfall as a major hurricane along the north-central Gulf of Mexico coast.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin described Hurricane Gustav as, "the mother of all storms," and ordered mandatory evacuation of the city, "You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now." New Orleans residents and tourists evacuated the city via trains, planes, and buses to destination shelters including Shreveport, LA and Chattanooga, TN. Contraflow vehicle evacuation begins Sunday morning at 4:00AM Central time. Early reports indicate heavy traffic along interstate highway evacuation routes. The SuperDome, New Orleans Convention Center, and hotels will be closed in advance of the storm. None of the previous sites used as storm shelters in the city of New Orleans will be available for Hurricane Gustav.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour ordered mandatory evacuations for residents living in flood zones and FEMA trailers. U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain, his wife Cindy, and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin are scheduled to arrive Sunday in Jackson, MS to review hurricane preparations at the request of Governor Barbour.

Prior to landfall in Cuba, the death toll from Gustav totaled more than 80 people. Early reports from Cuba indicate widespread power outages and significant damage to structures and vegetation. Reports from the Isle of Youth describe roads washed away, buildings toppled, and homes submerged under water.

Gustav	Hanna
Visible Satellite Image Loop Infrared Satellite Image Loop	Visible Image Loop Infrared Image Loop
WV Satellite Image Loop	WV Image Loop
Public Advisory	Public Advisory
Discussion	Discussion
Buoy Data: Western Caribbean                   FL and East GOM                   Western GOM	East Caribbean West Atlantic Florida
Forecast Models	Forecast Models

Category	Wind Speed	Barometric Pressure	Storm Surge	Damage Potential
Tropical Depression	< 39 mph < 34 kts			Minimal
Tropical Storm	39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts			Minimal
Hurricane 1 (Weak)	74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts	28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more	4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m	Minimal damage to vegetation
Hurricane 2 (Moderate)	96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts	28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb	6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m	Moderate damage to houses
Hurricane 3 (Strong)	111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts	27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb	9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m	Extensive damage to small buildings
Hurricane 4 (Very strong)	131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts	27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb	13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m	Extreme structural damage
Hurricane 5 (Devastating)	Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts	Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb	Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m	Catastrophic building failures possible

Additional Resources:

NOLA.com
WGMB FOX44 Baton Rouge
WVLA NBC33 Baton Rouge
WWL-TV News
FOX8 Live
KLFY Lafayette News
KADN Fox15 Lafayette
WKRG5 Gulfport

Emergency.Louisiana.gov
City of New Orleans Emergency Preparedness
Mississippi Emergency Management

Previous Threads:

Gustav & Hanna Thread I
Hurricane Gustav
Cat 5 Hurricane Sarah Is Catastrophic for Obama Campaign

[NautiNurse]

Please limit graphics to 50KB, do not post animated graphics, and remember that a lot of sites are overloaded due to hotlinking.

[dandelion]

Bump in the night... thanks for keeping this thread going. Between this and easternuswx.com, I feel like I’m able to keep one step ahead of the storm.

[Ingtar]

Thank you for the new thread. Basically, they have mandatory evacuations nearly everywhere now.

[Types_with_Fist]

"You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now."

What a classy guy. I can rest more easily here in Colorado knowing that my beloved New Orleans is in such good hands. < /s>

[chaos_5]

I dont know why Rove would use his weather machine like this!

[CindyDawg]

Sorry. I didn’t mean too. Just offering other options besides our ports :’)

[Petronski]

[VeniVidiVici]

Mayor Ray Nagin described Hurricane Gustav as, "the mother of all storms,"

Didn't he say this last time?

What's steering Hanna? Right now it looks like motion from Gustav.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Ugh.

[metmom]

bump

[CindyDawg]

Why would anyone listen to him?

[Eye of Unk]

Anybody heard of any possible attempt to weaken this storm by super-seeding? I would think something has been in the works untried or unheard of that in any small way could lessen the impact.

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Gustav is in the Gulf of Mexico.
Winds 140 mph, 948 mb. Moving NW at 15 mph.

Gustav is located about 515 miles SE of the mouth
of the Mississippi River.

New thread.

On/Off Hurricane List Mash Here-->

[eastforker]

Glad to see J M and SP in Jackson come monday, Thanks for the new thred, you be da WOman.

[TornadoAlley3]

placemark

[OCC]

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin described Hurricane Gustav as, "the mother of all storms," and ordered mandatory evacuation of the city, "You need to be concerned and you need to get your butts moving and out of New Orleans right now."

I recall him saying something similar in 2005. The people did not listen and Bush got blamed.

[alancarp]

Re: seeding — due to sheer size alone, it would be tantamount to trying to stop a meteor with a butterfly net. There’s 10,000 square miles of ocean involved.

[tsmith130]

I don’t recall him being quite this forceful this early.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

You don't see this in the forecast everyday (Zone Forecast Product for Assumption Parish):

LABOR DAY HURRICANE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S. NORTHEAST WINDS 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 70 MPH INCREASING TO 70 TO 90 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 110 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 80 PERCENT.

MONDAY NIGHT HURRICANE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE MID 70S. SOUTHEAST WINDS 70 TO 90 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 115 MPH BECOMING SOUTH AND DECREASING TO 45 TO 65 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 85 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR 100 PERCENT.

Not too often you see a 115mph forecast that isn't for the top of Mt Washington. Gustav will be Katrina's big brother by the time this is done.

[Petronski]

I saw both press conferences: 2005 and tonight.

He’s a changed man. This is a bigger deal.