Saturday, August 30, 2008

Gustav Loses Eye, Still Very Dangerous

The latest satellite imagery shows Gustav is slightly weaker than what it was earlier today. That can be seen by the eye not being clearly visible as it was earlier in the day. The reason for this eye losing its signature is the storm moving over the western part of Cuba this evening. That small interaction with land has led to the eye disappearing for a brief time.

However, this is only temporary, as Gustav is expected to strengthen once again on Sunday, possibly becoming a catastrophic category 5 hurricane. Notice the computer models take Gustav into southern Louisiana on Monday afternoon. Most of the models are converging in this general area, meaning the certainty has gotten much higher than what it has been over the past few days. For us, the biggest question has not so much to do about where it makes landfall, but rather, where it goes afterwards. Some of the models want to take Gustav westward and push it into East Texas. If that scenario occurs, then we will see hurricane force winds along with flooding rains and widespread power outages. The other scenario, a better one for us, is that it stays on a northwestward course, bringing in some gusty winds, and outer rain bands.
Basically, the northwest track would keep Gustave furthur away from East Texas, therefore, limiting the severity. Only time will tell.
Make sure to check back in with us tomorrow morning as we will have another post and update on Gustav.


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