1:30 PM | Hurricane Isaac bears down on the Louisiana coast
Paul Dorian
Discussion
Isaac has now reached official hurricane status as it continues to bear down on the Louisiana coastline for a possible landfall later tonight into early Wednesday. The latest measurements indicate that there are sustained winds at 75 mph, central pressure is down to 975 millibars, and the storm movement is towards the NW at 10 mph. There have already been some impressive wind gust reports of 64 mph at Grand Isle, La and 82 mph at a buoy just offshore. One of the big concerns about Isaac is that it looks like it’ll continue to be a slow mover over the next 24-48 hours; consequently, tremendous amounts of rainfall are quite likely – perhaps 20+ inches in some sections of Louisiana and Mississippi – with inland flooding the result. The extent of Isaac’s circulation and moisture field is actually quite vast. In fact, Charleston, South Carolina has had some flooding today with more than 3 inches of rain already reported as a result of Isaac. Eventually, after moving through Louisiana, it looks like the remains of Isaac will head northward towards Arkansas and Missouri before looping back to the east and potentially contributing to rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic region later this Labor Day weekend.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/hxZefVTvOCM