For all the destruction, they didn't get a direct hit.
TANKS,HAL,,,
NW track will shut-down most of the rigs/wells in the Gulf!
Rigzone.com won’t update for 5 hrs. or so,,,
No up-date from WU,,,
(snip)
the cloud pattern has become better defined over the past few
hours...with a well-defined eye and a thickening eyewall. Dvorak
classifications at 00z were t3.5 from both TAFB and SAB but the
structure has improved since then. The initial intensity is
increased to 60 kt and the next aircraft at 06z will most likely
find a hurricane. A microwave pass at 2243z showed a low-level
eyewall. Given this structure...and a SHIPS RI index well above
climatology...significant strengthening is likely prior to the
center of Gustav reaching Haiti. After that...the intensity of
Gustav will depend largely on how much the circulation interacts
with the land masses of Haiti and Cuba. Global models forecast an
upper level pattern that...while not anticyclonic...is at least
difluent and of light shear. The latest forecast track indicates
more time over water than the previous advisory and so the
intensity forecast has been increased to reflect that. Both the
GFDL and the HWRF show Gustav avoiding nearly all of Cuba and have
Gustav as a major hurricane in five days.
Statement as of 11:00 PM EDT on August 25, 2008(DAMMIT!)
is it time for a live thread?
Damn that Randy Shannon is getting all the prized recruits.