Gustav Knocks on Our Door

Southeastern US, Gulf of Mexico in for a Rough Week

With Hurricane Gustav, a category 4 storm looming on the doorsteps of the Gulf of Mexico, the prospects of a peaceful Labor Day weekend are diminishing with every hour for the Southern and Eastern United States.

Current forecasts put beleaguered New Orleans dead in the sights of this major storm.  The evacuation of the Louisiana coast has begun.  Gustav will be making his presence known to Louisianans by Sunday night.  A possible landfall, mid-day Monday,  just west of the Big Easy could send a storm surge slamming into metropolitan New Orleans.

As if that isn’t enough, tropical storm Hanna is sitting just east of the Bahamas, contemplating her westward move as she, also, gains strength.  In all likelihood, Hanna will be a full-fledged hurricane by Sunday, as she heads for Cuba and the Florida Keys.

In the central and eastern Atlantic, two more tropical waves from Africa trail Hanna; one of these has moderate potential for development.