Watch NBC Action News HD this weekend from 8-9 a.m. and at 5 & 10 p.m. for updates on Gustav and Kansas City's most accurate forecast!
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Hurricane Gustav weakened early Sunday and now has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. Some flucuation in strength is likely on Sunday and Sunday Night. As of Sunday morning the satellite view of Gustav showed a ragged eye and a little disorganization. With that said, it is still a major hurricane and will likely make landfall as a major hurricane on Monday.
Here is the satellite picture I was referring to.
The forecast path is a little more to the right than the path shown below from last night.
Please check out the blog from last night below. It makes a good comparison from where Gustav was yesterday and the trend into Sunday. We'll have updates all day long on the blog!
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Good evening bloggers! Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Cuba this evening as a category 4 hurricane with sustained winds estimated at 150 mph. I'm guessing the devastation will be extensive. The National Hurricane Center did receive some reports out of Cuba after Gustav made landfall. Here is a paragraph from their 8 p.m. advisory.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 150 MPH...240 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER GUSTS. GUSTAV IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR
HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. THERE ARE
UNOFFICIAL REPORTS FROM PINAR DEL RIO PROVINCE OF WINDS NEAR THESE ESTIMATES. SOME FLUCTUATIONS WITH AN OVERALL SLIGHT STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND GUSTAV COULD REACH CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY DURING THIS PERIOD. GUSTAV IS FORECAST TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE THROUGH LANDFALL ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF COAST.
With the number of bloggers growing each day on our site. I came across a list of hurricane terms from the NHC that I will provide. I think this covers most of the terms that can help your hurricane knowledge expand.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutgloss.shtml
Also, you can watch live coverage from our NBC affiliate in New Orleans as they are streaming their continuous coverage on the web. Here is the link...
http://www.wdsu.com/video/17347538/index.html
The forecast path of Gustav really has not changed a lot since this morning. However, the timing has. Gustav continues to move along between 12-15 mph. At this rate it will make landfall on Labor Day along the Gulf Coast, most likely somewhere between the Texas/Louisiana border and the Louisiana/Mississippi border.
Right now it looks like New Orleans would miss a direct hit from Gustav. But if it does track to the west of NOLA it would put them in the right from quadrant of the storm, or very close to it. This is an area that has the strongest winds, highest storm surge, and greatest potential for flooding.
As Gustav moves inland on Tuesday it will begin to push moisture northward. At the same time a cold front will drop into our viewing area. If Gustav's moisture reaches us before the front moves thru we are looking at heavy rain, but if the front drops thru first, then we could see some showers and storms along the front. With most of the rain from Gustav staying south. It will be a close call, but something we need to watch closely.
We will keep you updated on Gustav's progress in the blog and on our newscasts. This will be a major hurricane when it impacts the Gulf Coast, but just how strong is the question right now.
Thanks for stopping by the blog this holiday weekend. Sunday and Monday look to be dry days with highs around 90. If we do hit 90 on Sunday our contest would close with 13 days in the 90s I believe. Gary will have the official results when he blogs on Monday morning.
Jeremy