Gustav a Major Hurricane

8:00PM Update: Gustav is a very dangerous hurricane this evening. The storm had increased in strength rapidly, and is now a Category 4 with 150mph winds. The storm is on the Cuban Coast near Los Palacios. Winds and rain in the region have been fierce. The storm is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico overnight and could become a Cat 5. A Hurricane Watch is in effect from the Florida/Alabama border west to the Texas border. Best estimates at this time put landfall into Louisiana by Monday night or Tuesday warning. Evacuations have been ongoing all day with traffic jammed onto area Interstates for miles. It has been orderly so far and continues to be more organized than last time. Next full update will be in the morning.
Use the HurricaneCity link on the left for all up to date information.

Major Hurricane Gustav this morning.

Top: Photo of Traffic moving north on I-10 evacuating New Orleans early this morning.

Hurricane Gustav has become a major hurricane overnight with 120 mph winds and a pressure drop of 24mb in 24 hours. It is a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale as the storm heads towards the Isle of Youth and western Cuba. All interests in the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Panhandle to Texas are beginning to prepare for the storms arrival by late Monday. Evacuations have been ordered in the Parishes around New Orleans. New Orleans itself had not ordered an evacuation yet but all residents are being encouraged to leave. The evacuation order could come at any time. Forecasters expect Gustav to become a category 4 and then weaken slightly as the storm approaches the coast. On this path the storm would move inland southwest of New Orleans near Grand Isle, Louisiana or near Lafayette. This would send a devastating storm surge up the Mississippi Delta towards New Orleans, and severely test the new levee system that was put in place after Katrina in 2005.

Updates all weekend long and also check out this site for local coverage... http://www.nola.com/