BREAKING: GUSTAV EXPECTED TO GROW TO CAT 5

[yourguide]

Per FEMA on MSNBC now

They just stated it was going over a narrow part of the island of Cuba and they doubted that would diminish it's strength.

[rucky]

1. Here we go again.

shit, mon.

[goodgd_yall]

43. It will be CAT 5 and then diminish to a CAT 4 or CAT 3 before it hits the US mainland

I understand that it grows to a CAT 5 category after leaving Cuba and goes into a stretch of warm water, but then it's strength diminishes a bit, but still it will be a strong hurricane.

[FatDave]

44. Exactly like Katrina

From wikipedia:

Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there, before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico and becoming one of the strongest hurricanes on record while at sea. The storm weakened before making its second and third landfalls as a Category 3 storm on the morning of August 29 in southeast Louisiana and at the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, respectively.

[lligrd]

Chit, That Was Quick nt

[Lucinda]

12. My exact thought.

[ronnykmarshall]

2. Oh god no.

Is Nagal going to evacuate NOLA?

[yourguide]

5. He is now...

[ronnykmarshall]

17. Pray the levees hold up this time.

[yourguide]

22. I have been

there have been reports that the pumps dont work and if our government did a poor job on the levees it will be Katrina all over again, and I pray that more people left this time around.

[endthewar]

28. Evacuation should be easier. The city has fewer people.

Not even Bush can screw this one up. He better be down there with a shovel in his hand if needed if he doesn't send the resources down there.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

3. Frick! I feel so sorry for the people in NO and all along the Gulf Coast!

Get out of there, people!

[npincus]

4. SHIT, goddamit!

[VolcanoJen]

6. OMG!

:-(

Everyone light a candle for Gulf Coast residents.

[Martinucho]

7. I believe the headline is inaccurate

A top banner on MSNBC says it could become a category 5 before touching Cuba.

www.msnbc.com

[yourguide]

8. The FEMA spokesperson said it was a cat 5 now.

[Martinucho]

10. The report on it becoming category 4 is dated 4 minutes ago

How can a hurricane pick up speed so fast?

[yourguide]

13. Changed the headline, could have sworn he said it.

The eye wall has solidified which means it's ripe to go cat 5

[endthewar]

30. Not changes in the hurricane. Changes in the prediction.

Lots of warm water for it to churn up in intensity. That's what they're factoring in.

[busymom]

25. the hurricane tracker has it hitting land as a cat 1 though...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26295161/

Is it just behind the predictions?

[Lisa0825]

9. National Hurricane Center still has it as a 4

predicting to be a 5 before landfall on Cuba.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT2+shtml/301823.shtml?

200 PM EDT SAT AUG 30 2008

SO MUCH FOR A SLOWDOWN IN THE INTENSIFICATION RATE OF GUSTAV.
YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME WE CONVEYED THAT RAPID INTENSIFICATION OVER
THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN WAS POSSIBLE...BUT THIS IS A LITTLE MORE
THAN WHAT WE HAD IN MIND IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. THE HURRICANE HAS
REACHED CATEGORY FOUR STATUS WITH AN INTENSITY OF 125 KT...HAVING
BEEN A STRONG TROPICAL STORM JUST ABOUT 24 HOURS AGO. THE MAXIMUM
SURFACE WIND VALUE IS BASED ON A FLIGHT-LEVEL WIND AT 700 MB OF 141
KT...SINCE THE 90 PERCENT ADJUSTMENT TO THE SURFACE USUALLY WORKS
RATHER WELL FOR INTENSIFYING MAJOR HURRICANES. THE AIRCRAFT FIXES
INDICATE THAT A NORTHWESTWARD MOTION HAS RESUMED...AND THE INITIAL
MOTION ESTIMATE IS 315/12...RIGHT ALONG THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY
TRACK. NO CHANGES TO THE 1500 UTC FORECAST TRACK HAVE BEEN
MADE...BUT THE INTENSITY FORECAST HAS BEEN ADJUSTED UPWARD THROUGH
96 HOURS. GUSTAV COULD INTENSIFY SOME MORE DURING THE NEXT FEW
HOURS OVER WATER...AND ONE CANNOT RULE OUT CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY
BEFORE CROSSING CUBA. THE FORECAST NOW CALLS FOR A PEAK AT 140
KT...CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY...OVER THE SOUTHERN GULF WHERE OCEAN
HEAT CONTENT WILL STILL BE HIGH...FOLLOWED BY A VERY GRADUAL
WEAKENING OVER THE NORTHERN GULF WHERE OCEAN HEAT CONTENT IS LESS.

[yourguide]

11. OK...just posting what he said - will change the headline.

[Martinucho]

15. Let's just call it a 4 and a half. Deal? n/t

[yourguide]

21. MSNBC just said FEMA called it a cat 5

I didnt mishear it.

[Martinucho]

32. It looks like the FEMA director screwed up by calling it "category 5"

A top banner in ABC News says, HURRICANE GUSTAV STILL CATEGORY 4, NOT CATEGORY 5 AS FEMA CHIEF REPORTED, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER SAYS.

So the OP was right in reporting what he heard.

http://abcnews.go.com/

[Lisa0825]

16. It very likely *could* be a 5 now, but the data comes in periodically

and the NHC is who makes the official announcement, not FEMA. But I would bet that FEMA is making a correct guess

[yourguide]

19. I agree, I really feel for the people of Cuba

They are going to get hit hard.

[Martinucho]

26. By Pat Robertson's logic, God hates both Communists and Capitalists

Because the hurricane is likely to hit both Cuba and the US.

Go figure.

[TahitiNut]

14. CURRENTLY (2:30pm EDT) it's a Category 4, FORECAST to be Category 5

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. uh oh

[RagAss]

20. God Forbid !

[quakerboy]

23. Damn it

It was nice in a academic way thinking it would be handily coincidental with the R convention and remind people of exactly what they area about, but no one wants this.

[busymom]

24. Holy crap

I hope that the forecasts are wrong!

[LongDistanceRunner]

27. this looks like New Orleans will get the kind of wind that Mississippi got last time

the storms winds are strongest on the northeastern side

this is no good

[Barack_America]

29. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are being evacuated.

Going to write an OP on this now.

[demobabe]

31. Winds are at 145 now... and it has that whole gulf of warm water to feul it

Be scared, very scared...

[yourguide]

33. And an example of our government at work

west bank levees vulnerable: Aug 29, 2008

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl082808mlwestbank.204cd2f0.html

40% of pumps could fail - One week ago

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-23-katrina_N.htm

[Eurobabe]

34. Holy SHIT

Will Gustav finish NOLA because Bush/FEMA couldn't get it together in time? Good God people, get the PHUCK outta there!!! Stay safe. If this stays Cat5, someplace on the Gulf Coast is in deep doo-doo.

Another disaster under BushCo.

[Barack_America]

35. *N.O. being Evacuated

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6834140

[laylah]

36. Stay safe everyone! nt

[LiveLiberally]

37. Anyone else note that Gustav is tracking more and more west?

If this continues, Houston -- rather than New Orleans -- could be in the most danger. Hope they're taking the same precautions.

[Barack_America]

38. Actually, the track has stabilized a bit...

Most of the models now agree on Western LA.

The reason it looks like it has shifted so much is that the model that they prefer and base their track on has now shifted into agreement with the other models.

[LiveLiberally]

39. Good to know -- thx for the info! n/t

[Homer Wells]

40. Using my somewhat myopic crystal ball

I picture Gustav slamming into Louisiana while some self-righteous Republican at the Republican National Convention will be holding forth on the evils of gay marriage, freedom of choice, and all the rest of the hate they are so proud to toss about.

Cue Nero-cue the violins

Talk about a marvelous visual-aid this will give any voter with more than 10 little grey cells firing at the same time.

That said, my prayers are with the folk in the path of this storm. Having spent my childhood on the Gulf Coast, I KNOW from first hand experience what these storms can do.



:cry: :grouphug:

[RollWithIt]

41. Well, I'm in Bonita Springs, approcimately 500 miles away....

And the outer bands are starting to show up here.

[graywarrior]

42. This sucks beyond suck.