The latest updates on Gustav offer both good and bad news.
The bad news is that the storm is moving more quickly than expected. The original track had the storm making landfall sometime tomorrow, but it now appears that impact could be sometime overnight. This means that the coastal areas are already getting the impact from the outer bands of the system.
However, by traveling more quickly over the Gulf, the storm had less time to gain energy and, as a result, it is no longer expected to reach Category 4. It is now anticipated to be a Level 3 storm at impact and will quickly drop down to Level 2.
Of course this is still a VERY powerful storm and there is a very good chance of significant damage in the New Orleans area, but with the much more effective evacuation process it is likely most of the loss will be material rather than human and that is an important distinction.
Still, we should all keep the people of the Gulf Coast in our thoughts and prayers.
Be sure to check out Holly’s great coverage of this storm.