Soon-To-Be Hurricane Isaac Bearing Down On The Gulf Coast

Hurricane warnings issued from Louisiana to Florida panhandle as Tropical Storm Isaac Lashes Florida Keys
Published August 26, 2012
FoxNews.com

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for an area stretching from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle Sunday, as the storm lashed the Florida Keys.
The warnings stretched from east of Morgan City, La. -- which includes the New Orleans area -- to Destin, Fla.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isaac is expected to hit somewhere between southeastern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle either late Tuesday or early Wednesday. It added that hurricane conditions are expected inside the warning area and preparations to protect life and property should be completed as soon as possible.

Preparations have begun farther north as forecasters warn Isaac could be a strong Category 2 hurricane by the time it reaches the Gulf Coast..

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a State of Emergency for Louisiana on Sunday afternoon.

Jindal, a GOP governor expected to speak at this week’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, said he was staying put in Louisiana as the state awaits Tropical Storm Isaac.

“I'm not going anywhere, so I'm not thinking about the convention. I’m not thinking about politics right now our absolute top priority has to be the safety of our people,” he said.

Even before reaching hurricane strength, Isaac has caused considerable inconvenience, with hundreds of flights canceled at airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. There were scattered power outages from Key West to Fort Lauderdale affecting more than 6,000 customers, and flooding occurred in low-lying areas.

Wind gusts of 60 mph were reported as far north as Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. But while officials urged residents in southeast Florida to stay home, that recommendation was ignored by surfers and joggers on Miami Beach and shoppers at area malls.

The storm was predicted to pass west of Tampa, the site of the Republican National Convention, but it had already disrupted the schedule there because of the likelihood of heavy rain and strong winds.

In Key West, Emalyn Mercer rode her bike while decked out with a snorkel and mask, inflatable arm bands and a paddle, just for a laugh. She rode with Kelly Friend, who wore a wet suit, dive cap and lobster gloves.

"We're just going for a drink," Mercer said.

"With the ones that are brave enough like us," Friend added.

Along famed Duval Street, many stores, bars and restaurants closed, the cigar rollers and palm readers packed up, and just a handful of drinking holes remained open.
That kind of ho-hum attitude extended farther up the coast. Edwin Reeder swung by a gas station in Miami Shores — not for fuel, but drinks and snacks.

"This isn't a storm," he said. "It's a rain storm."

With a laugh, Reeder said he has not stocked up aside from buying dog and cat food.
The forecast wasn't funny, however. Isaac was expected to draw significant strength from the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico/

The storm, which stretched more than 200 miles from its center, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, could bring top sustained winds of 96 to 110 mph.

The Gulf Coast hasn't been hit by a hurricane since 2008, when Dolly, Ike and Gustav all struck the region.

Hurricane center forecasters are uncertain of the storm's path because two of their best computer models now track the storm on opposite sides of a broad cone. One model has Isaac going well west and the other well east. For the moment, the predicted track goes up the middle.

Before reaching Florida, Isaac was blamed for seven deaths in Haiti and two more in the Dominican Republic, and downed trees and power lines in Cuba. It bore down on the Keys two days after the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than $25 billion in damage just north of the island chain.

In Tampa, convention officials said they would convene briefly on Monday, then recess until Tuesday afternoon, when the storm was expected to have passed. Gov. Rick Scott canceled his plans to attend convention events on Sunday and Monday.

At Miami International Airport, more than 450 flights Sunday were canceled. Inside the American Airlines terminal, people craned for a look out of one of the doors as a particularly strong band of Isaac began lashing the airport with strong rain and high wind.

Michele Remillard said she was trying to get a seat on a flight to New Orleans, well aware the city could be affected by Isaac later this week. In coastal Plaquemines Parish, La., crews rushed to protect the levees that keep floodwaters from reaching that New Orleans suburb.

As of 2 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 50 miles southeast of Key West, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Isaac had top sustained winds of 60 mph and was moving to the northwest at 18 mph.

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 205 miles from the center, meaning storm conditions are possible even in places not in Isaac's direct path.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sounds like this could be interesting. Weather Channel is showing right now that the most likely spot it will hit is from New Orleans over to the Mississippi/Alabama borders with the Gulf. It is especially scary that Wednesday marks 7 years since Katrina hit New Orleans. The city still has a lot of cleaning up still being done after then, what if there is a direct or almost-direct hit on the city?