Discussion is out...
http://vortex.plymouth.edu/hur_dir/hur_dis_nt2.html
...KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO BE MOVING OVER THE GULF LOOP CURRENT AFTER 36 HOURS...WHICH WHEN COMBINED WITHDECREASING VERTICAL SHEAR...SHOULD ALLOW THE HURRICANE TO REACH CATEGORY FOUR STATUS BEFORE LANDFALL OCCURS. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE SHIPS AND GFDL MODELS...WHICH BRING KATRINA UP TO 118 KT. THE FSU SUPERENSEMBLE MODEL IS MORE ROBUST AND BRINGS KATRINA UP TO 129 KT JUST BEFORE LANDFALL.</br>
I was surprised to see them up the landfall forecast to cat4. I mean, the conditions look darn good... but they are usually conservative.
This is gonna be nasty, where ever it hits.