Isaac pounding Louisiana coast

An angry Lake Pontchartrain spills onto Lakeshore Drive in eastern New Orleans on Tuesday. (Photo from USA Today.com)

Hurricane Isaac continues a relentless assault on coastal Louisiana this morning. The storm is maintaining 80 mph winds and a very impressive circulation both on radar and satellite. Isaac is in better shape this morning than he has been his entire life cycle. The storm is moving painfully slowly inland over southern Louisiana at 6mph and will continue to do so today while gradually weakening. The storm surge has inundated areas south of New Orleans with as much as 9 feet of water. According to Plaquemines Parrish president Billy Nungesser, water has accumulated up to 5 feet at the Woodlawn Fire Department, more than during Hurricane Katrina 7 years ago today. Rainfall will be excessive with Isaac today across Mississippi and Louisiana with 15 to 20 inches possible. The heavy rain will spreads north into Arkansas and the Midwest. Over 450,000 homes and businesses are without power as off 7am this morning. Plaquemines Parrish is located southeast of New Orleans where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico. It is low lying, at or below sea level, and as much water as land. Mandatory evacuations had been ordered but many remained and according to CNN numerous water rescues are taking place this morning with some homes flooded to there roofs.

It is way too early to tell if Isaac will impact the weather in southern Ontario and Quebec this weekend. For the time being high pressure will dominate with chilly nights and warm, sunny days. It was quite cool this morning with Montreal dropping to 11C (52F) and Ottawa a cold 6C (43F). The broad circulation around high pressure off the east coast and Isaac will actually pump warm and humid air into the region by Friday with highs near 30C.