10 a.m. info on Gustav

Here is the latest information on Hurricane Gustav…

10 AM FAST FACTS
Gustav located 21.2N 81.2W or 185 miles ESE of the western tip of Cuba…
Movement…NW-14
Top Winds…125 mph…Category 3
Central Pressure…954 mb…based on a recon measurement just after 7 a.m. The storm continues to intensify, so the pressure is probably lower. No plane in storm now, but Air Force mission is about to depart for the storm. A high altitude Gulfstream jet will sample the atmosphere in the path of the hurricane this afternoon. T his date will be fed into the computer models for a more accurate forecast tonight.

Hurricane warnings have been discontinued for the Caymans. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the lower keys. A hurricane warning is in effect for the western provinces of Cuba, along with a hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings further east.

MODELS
…06z GFDL predicts faster movement…with landfall near New Iberia, LA Monday evening 7 p.m…top winds 115 mph…pressure 931mb..GFDL makes it nearly a Category Five hurricane with winds of 145 mph and a pressure of 915 mb by Sunday evening.
…the overnight run of the GFS was a little faster also, presenting a landfall around 10 p.m. Monday night near or west of New Iberia.
…last night’s NOGAPS model in general agreement.
…we will start getting the early track models in from the 12z runs shortly and will share them.

NOTES
…pressure dropped 34 mb in less than 24 hours…and 20 mb in 12 hours.
…AMTRAK service has been suspended south of Atlanta, east of San Antonio and south of Memphis…trainsets will be used for evacuation trains northbound out of the city to Memphis.
…The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport expects its last outbound flight to leave at 6 p.m. Sunday. Only people with tickets will be allowed to enter the airport…checkpoint are set up
…New Orleans hotels are under order to close during the mandatory evacuation
…Delta is adding two flights to Atlanta today

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