This site is pretty good for tracking too:

http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/

I especially like the spaghetti model!

Gustav is up to a Cat 4, highest winds in the eye wall were measured by the hurricane hunters as 163 mph! I truly hope he loses some steam before he hits the US. Cuba is really in for it. It's down to 935 mb of pressure too. Yikes, what a monster.

I really hope the people of New Orleans leave. I spent the summer of 2007, for 8 weeks, as an AmeriCorps VISTA working with youth organizations in the city of New Orleans. Words can't even describe my fear for the still recovering area if they get a direct hit there. Just continuing to hope and pray for the safety of any area it may hit.

It's looking less and less like NOLA will be hit directly, but I think they'll still feel some pretty severe effects. They are really having a hard time predicting where this thing is going to make landfall.

I love how you know NOLA!!! I made great friends there, some that still live there, and my students of course, and there's even OPA chapters down in Louisiana...so Louisiana has a huge place in my heart.

Aunt and Uncle are evacuating tomorrow from Port Arthur, Texas. Even though they are not in the direct path, they suffered severe damage to their house during Rita and some during Katrina.

People need to be smart and listen to the warnings.

While it may not take a direct hit, it looks right now as if the city will get the right side of the storm and that is often the worst side.

Gustav is now a Cat 4, and it is just entering the Gulf....I don't know how they think it will be a 2 when it lands...

Its because the farther north it goes, closer to the coast...the waters are cooler. That will cause it to weaken. But in my opinion...that's only hoping it weakens!

They are talking about some wind shear that think will weaken it up some before it hits. Katrina was huge in the Gulf and was starting to weaken when it too though.

we are under a tropical storm watch now...winds are only 6mph away from making gustav a cat. 5....ouch.

^^^For real...this could stop now. It's too big, too fast, too much.

If anything though, I hope it hits at night. The last real threat we had in our neck was in the day and it was so annoying to be sitting up listening to the wind howl. Usually we sleep through most of them when they are in the evenings.

Seems like most of the gulf coast is feeling some effect already. Here in Tampa Bay we have had strong gusts of winds, rain, and cloud cover for the last two days! Amazing considering we are no where near the center.

we have a cell headed our way now with 60+ mph winds...it's not raining yet here in panama city, but i can definitely see the wind is starting to pick up. i'm trying to figure out whether or not i should leave for tallahassee now and risk going through the bad cell, or wait until the rain begins...either way i'm in for an eventful hour and a half drive.

George Bush's buddy Mike Brown, aka "Brownie" who was in charge of FEMA back in '05, when it was exposed that he had no prior emergency relief experience. He had the nerve to go on CNN today and say that FEMA is doing an excellent job executing its emergency plan. Like we need his assurance! :mad:

So right now there's Gustav and Hanna.....

Everyone say hello to Tropical Storm Ike!

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/hu.../2008/ike.html