Updraft: September 1, 2008 Archive

Crunch time

Posted at 7:53 AM on September 1, 2008 by Paul Huttner

Hurricane Gustav nears land fall

As category 3 Gustav makes land fall this south of Houma, Louisiana the next 12 to 24 hours are going to be critical for New Orleans. Remember with Katrina it appeared that the city had dodged the flood bullet immediately after land fall. It was several hours later when we began to realize with horror that the levees had indeed failed, and much of the eastern end of New Orleans was disappearing under water.

It may be late today or tomorrow before we know if the levees around New Orleans have held. The good news is the storm surge with Gustav is around 10 to 14 feet. It was 25 with Katrina.

Hurricane force winds and storm surge will continue to pound New Orleans for the next several hours. As water piles up and gets pushed into Lake Pontchartrain form the east, the pressure on the levees will build. Because the center of Gustav is passing west of the city, surge and water pressure will also build from the south as the storm moves inland, and the so called "west bank" areas of New Orleans could also be vulnerable.

Gustav is also slowing down from the previously brisk clip of 16 mph. The storm is expected to slow over western Louisiana tomorrow and that will increase rainfall totals. Some areas may approach or exceed 20 inches in the next few days.

Latest Gustav advisory

As Gustav rages over Louisiana residents of the southeast U.S. are watching Hanna which may become a Hurricane after passing over the warm Gulf Stream later this week.

Tropical Storm Hannah track

The Atlantic is cranking out disturbances that have the potential for development. As we near the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane season the tropics are in high gear.

Atlantic tropical outlook

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