[alancarp]

Well, I found the 7am European model forecast... it is coming back to the NHC track. By its reckoning, Issac will be a 976-980mb storm as it hits the mainland directly between New Orleans and Gulfport... but could take 24 hours to get from the outskirts of the delta region to the next 100 miles north. That would be ugly... even if it's "only" a 90mph storm.

[alancarp]

Buoy 42003 caught a pressure level of 29.15 inches (I'm not sure if that converts to 984 or 987 mb) when the eye passed over it ~2 hours ago.

Peak wind gust reported was only 44.7 knots, but I can't tell how they measure these gusts, given that data is only sampled once an hour. The water temperature, however, was 85 degrees.