Update: Hurricane Katrina is NOW CATEGORY FIVE!

NOAA & The Weather Channel ^ | August 27, 2005

[Crazieman]

Broadcast on the weather channel, soon to be posted around the net.

Webcams show traffic is light at this AM, soon to fill quickly. Freepers and friends in New Orleans should flee now!

First Hurricane evacuation in New Orleans history (so its said)

[Paul C. Jesup]

It gets worst, Hurricane Katrina is now only five miles from being a CAT 5 hurricane.

New Orleans may become a modern day sicken city, like Atlantis (please, no Stargate jokes), before this is over.

[Paul C. Jesup]

See above post.

[Recon Dad]

Along the gulf they talk about Camile from 1969. I saw the aftermath of it and I do not wish this for N.O.

[diverteach]

There really is NO such thing as a manadatiry evacuation. Basically when authorities tell you that there is a "Mandatory evacuation", they are simply saying, leave or else and we told you so. So, if you stay and you need help of any kind, don't bother calling they won't be there to help. They cannot force you to leave, all they can and usually do enforce are curfews during nightime hours to prevent looting.

Anybody sticking around to ride this one out though is really going to wish that they hadn't.

[MEG33]

http://www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_wwltv&props=livenoad

New Orleans news feed

[DB]

It's at 150 mph now. When the sun comes up it will very likely pickup more energy... Some computer model predictions are 160+ mph.

[dawn53]

And it has picked up forward speed, so it will come ashore sooner than predicted.

[advance_copy]

Anybody sticking around to ride this one out though is really going to wish that they hadn't.

Anybody sticking around to ride it out is running a serious risk of not being around when it is over.

[Paul C. Jesup]

It's at 150 mph now. When the sun comes up it will very likely pickup more energy... Some computer model predictions are 160+ mph.

Actually Foxnews is reporting it is at 156mph right now.

[DB]

I like this one, more detail:

[Miss Marple]

Yep. I just heard that.

[DB]

I'm watching Fox News, and I didn't hear that.

They did say it was up to 150 mph and they said 156 is Category 5. Not that it was at Category 5 yet.

[DB]

It is really amazing when you consider the size of it, that you can see significant changes in the nominal 10 minute increments of the image. Things are moving very fast. You can also see it swelling up getting larger over a 45 minute period (that is the current image covering 5:40AM to 6:25AM).

[advance_copy]

WWL (New Orleans TV): No wind sheer to weaken the storm. Water temps at 90 degrees surface, in the 80s to considerable depths. Storm still to strengthen even more. Highly confident of landfall in southeast Louisiana.

[diverteach]

Those few frames sure look like it's now moving alot more northwest and NOT the WNW they are still reporting.

Everytime I go to New Orleans, the garbage smell in the streets lingers in my nostrils for hours after I've left and have always felt New Orleans could use a good pressure washin', but not in this way.

This is looking like it's going to be one for the history books and will be talked about for a longggggg time.

[DB]

So it looks like a Category 5 is likely.

[SkyPilot]

Thanks, I have seen that pic at #94 before and it puts in in stark perspective.

[pax_et_bonum]

I agree. This is an amazing storm.

I've sweated out these things my whole life here on the Gulf Coast, and this one is especially frightening.

[gridlock]

I think I would be heading for Texarkana.....

And you could pick up a semi-truck full of Coors Beer and be back in Atlanta in 14 hours!

[jwpjr]

re: East or West, because the storm will be moving to the North

Too bad it's not that straightforward! Last year a hundred thousand plus Florida Gulf Coast residents evacuated to the Orlando area. The Tampa-St. Pete region was to be ground zero. Without warning the storm turned east far south of the Tampa area and went directly over the area where the Gulf Coast residents had taken shelter.

There is still no way to know if the storm will hit at or near NOLA. It has done nothing so far that it forecast to do. They have been predicting a turn to a more northerly track for several days now.

Truth is, there is no predicting what any storm will do. And the first to stress that are people who do their best to predict their paths.

My heart goes out to those who will have to deal with this storm. God bless them and be with them.