Katrina Category 3 Foreshadows Likely Damage as Hurricane Gustav May Reach Category 5

Hurricane Katrina category 1 made landfall at the coast of southern Florida and then moved through the Gulf of Mexico increasing in force to a category 5 hurricane. It once again made contact with land in the southeastern portion of Louisiana, this time as Hurricane Katrina category 3.

Hurricane Gustav Category 4 Surpasses Force of Hurricane Katrina

Even as Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane for a brief period of time, it had been downgraded to a category 3 when it made landfall. In stark contrast stands Hurricane Gustav category 4 which is currently threatening Louisiana, a city that has not yet recovered from the aftermath of Katrina.

At this time New Orleans is under evacuation and Texas' Harris County is likely to follow suit. The LSU versus Appalachian State college football game changed its kickoff time from 4:00 PM to 10:00 AM to keep attendees from blocking Interstate 10, slated as a premier evacuation route. Once Hurricane Gustav reached hurricane category 4, the Army reported that responders had been put into place in Louisiana.

Residents are heeding the warnings and this time the number of those willing to ride out the storm is infinitesimally small. Instead, businesses, tourists, and also residents are packing up their belongings and following the local authorities' advice for leaving the area for the safer inland regions. Of course, the anxieties over what will be left of their only recently rebuilt homes and businesses weigh heavy.

NOAA warns at this time that a Hurricane Gustav may strike the northern Gulf Coast - including New Orleans as well as Lake Pontchartrain - within 36 hours of 5:00 PM ET 08-30-08. Concurrently, the Florida Panhandle is under a tropical storm watch. Change from a category 4 to a category 5 hurricane is highly likely.

Breaking news from the Cuban News Network suggest that Gustav has passed over the Isle of Youth and although communication is disrupted, the bit of information that is being released points to catastrophic damage. Until communication has been restored and aid workers are able to reach the area, it is hard to anticipate the true extent of the devastation.

Is Hurricane Hanna Next?

Still considered the eighth tropical storm, Hanna appeared on August 28^th. Tropical storm Hanna is currently reported as holding steady at 50 to 65 miles per hour. Although cautiously optimistic that the former tropical depression eight, now tropical storm Hanna, will not be turning into a major hurricane, watchers of this year's storm season are a bit weary. Thus far, tropical storm watches have been issued by NOAA for the southeastern portion of the Bahamas.

Sources:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/08/29/12008-louisiana-guard-gears-up-for-gustav/
http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/gustav.php
http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/hanna.php
http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2008/0830gustav_DevastatingLangFall.htm