As of this morning at 7am this was the latest on what was happening with our tropical weather
As the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina nears, federal, state and local officials along the Gulf Coast are keeping a wary eye on Tropical Storm Gustav and preparing for the worst.
The storm, which killed at least 23 people in the Caribbean earlier this week as a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to skirt Cuba’s southern coast, strengthen again into a hurricane and lumber into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A day after stalling off Haiti’s coast, Gustav was centered about 80 miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving toward the west-southwest near 8 mph at 4 a.m. CDT today.
Forecasters say it could strengthen into a Category 2 storm and come ashore anywhere from the upper Texas coast to the Florida Panhandle early next week.
New Orleans, which was devastated by Katrina, could be in the storm’s path.
Of course, I no sooner arrived at work than the models changed…
Gustav goes south. Intensity goes north. Uncertainty abounds.
As often happens with tropical weather, Tropical Storm Gustav has taken an unpredictable turn overnight. Let’s talk about it.
WHAT WE KNOW
The storm’s center re-formed to the south of its original position and now Gustav is only about 80 miles east of Jamaica. This has caused a shift in some of the computer model forecasts toward the Texas coast.
Now over water the storm has quickly strengthened into a 70-mph tropical storm this morning, and further intensification seems likely later today.
Yet although waters are warm in the Caribbean Sea and wind shear quite low, interaction with Jamaica should inhibit the rapid intensification of Gustav into a major hurricane for at least a day or two as the storm passes near the island’s southern edge.
SciGuy
Since we are so far out from landfall anything can happen, this long weekend will prove interesting as we keep one eye on the internet watching the models shift around.
The Labor Day barbecue might be a bit stressed don’t ya think…Or we may be eating it in the Hill Country.
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I was thinking about you this morning, typed “gustav” into G-reader and bingo! Your page popped up. Yes, it will be a tense weekend for lots of folks. Be well.