Gustav Strengthens in the Caribbean

The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that Gustav has strengthened slightly as it approaches the south coast of Haiti. At 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Gustav was located about 75 miles south-southeast of Port Au Prince, Haiti, moving to the northwest at 9 mph. Early Tuesday morning, an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter plane confirmed the system had intensified to hurricane strength, making it the third hurricane of the 2008 hurricane season. Gustav is a compact storm, with hurricane strength winds of 90 mph extending just 25 miles from the center. Tropical storm-force winds extend 70 miles from the center of the storm. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for the entire Haiti coastline, the southwest Dominican Republic coastline, all of Jamaica and the eastern third of Cuba. The center of the storm is expected to cross the southwestern tip of Haiti later on today. Heavy rain is the main concern with this storm for Hispaniola and Cuba. This storm will affect many of the same areas that were drenched by Tropical Storm Fay, making catastrophic flooding and mudslides an even greater concern than normal. Rainfall totals of 5-10 inches are expected across much of southern Hispaniola, Jamaica and southeastern Cuba. Some places could receive over 15 inches of rain when all is said and done with this storm, especially if it slows down. Gustav is forecasted to make a slow track south of Cuba through the middle of the week before possibly emerging into the Gulf of Mexico by Labor Day weekend. If the storm takes a more southerly track over warmer waters, there is a real possibility that Gustav will strengthen to a major hurricane. All interests in the Gulf of Mexico should keep a close eye on this storm as it progresses through the Caribbean. Depending on how the hurricane progresses, Gustav may be a serious concern to the Gulf Coast states next week. Meanwhile, Fay continues to slam the Deep South with heavy rain as it slowly starts to move out of the region. However, the Southeast will continue to feel the effects of the remnants of Fay for the next couple of days.The Severe Weather Center lists the flood and flash-flood watches and warnings in effect across the Southeast. In addition, tornado watches and warnings are out for the Southeast as Fay continues to create conditions that are favorable for isolated tornado formation in Georgia and Alabama. Widely separated bands of heavy rain will continue around the center of circulation today as the storm moves into the Tennessee Valley. As the storm begins to lose shape, the threat of large-scale flooding will diminish. However, smaller pockets of heavy rain could produce potentially dangerous localized flooding. Some places in the Southeast that are in the midst of a prolonged drought are actually welcoming this rain. However, the core of the heaviest rain will likely slip to the west of the hardest-hit areas of Georgia and the Carolinas. Even so, any rain is welcomed in this rather parched region of the country. As the week goes on, the remnants of Fay will start to weaken as it stretches up and down the Eastern Seaboard, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms farther and farther north.
HURRICANE GUSTAV



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As in the days of Noah...