As of 7 pm:
- A Hurricane Warning was in effect from Port O'Connor, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana, Tropical Storm Warnings were in effect for Morgan City to the Louisiana/Mississippi state line (this includes New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain, though any tropical-storm winds there were expected to be confined to a few fast-moving squalls/rainbands) and from Port O'Connor to Port Mansfield, Texas, and a Tropical Storm Watch was in effect from Port Mansfield down through Brownsville, Texas through Rio San Fernando, Mexico.
- Katrina was centered near 26.0 north 89.9 west, or about 350 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas and about 290 miles southeast of Cameron, Louisiana
- Motion was to the west-northwest near 10 mph, with a gradual turn to the northwest over the next 24 hours and an approach to the southwest Louisiana/upper Texas coast by late Friday
- Maximum sustained winds were near 145 mph, with fluctuations in intensity likely in the next 24 hours. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from teh center and tropical storm winds extended outward up to 205 miles
- The minimum pressure was at 913 mb, but that has been updated to 915 mb as of 7:10 pm and an extrapolated 916 mb at 7:27 pm (I would not necessarily trust that last number).
Thanks for the update, steve. Just got in, and it helps a lot.