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Hurricane Isaac is a slow moving storm that will pound southern Louisiana and Mississippi for the next 12 to 24 hours with sustained winds of 60 to 70 mph and gusts to 105 mph. As much as 20 inches of rain can be expected with a storm surge of 6 to 10 feet. The winds will push the water up the Mississippi River while heavy rainwater will move downward creating high water and flooding. In Plaquemines Parish the water was temporarily splashing over the levee system but that has since subsided. More than 120,000 customers are without power at 9 PM EDT on Tuesday evening. Isaac is now a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 80 mph with gusts to 100 mph. Movement is northwest at 8 mph. The central pressure is 968 millibars, the storm is about 50 miles southeast of New Orleans.
The main danger from this storm is the very slow movement that is forecast through 6 PM Wednesday with heavy downpours expected through this time across southeast Louisiana including the city of New Orleans. The storm is forecast by the RPM and GFS models to track very slowly westward and then north through 6 PM Wednesday.
George Wright is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist for Wright Weather Consulting, LLC. George is also a meteorologist with ABC News and Cablevision News 12. Our website is WrightWeather.com. Follow George Wright on Twitter.
At 2 PM today, the center of Tropical Store Isaac is about 50 miles to the south-southeast of Key West, FL, moving west-northwest at 18 mph. The maximum sustained winds are now at 60 mph. The storm is forecast to intensify into a hurricane before making landfall near Gulfport, MS about 8 AM Wednesday morning. The latest GFS model takes the storm to the west across Louisiana before bringing the remnants northward up the Mississippi River Valley and then into the Ohio Valley. The model then brings the rain from the storm into the New York City metropolitan area on Labor Day. The GFS model also forecasts that another storm (that could be named Joyce) will track up the east coast but far enough out to sea to bring only rough seas and rip currents to local New York City area beaches for the weekend after Labor Day. The greatest effects from this system would be felt in eastern Long Island and Cape Code if the model verifies this far out in time.
George Wright is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist for Wright Weather Consulting, LLC. George is also a meteorologist with ABC News and Cablevision News 12. Our website is WrightWeather.com. You may also follow Meteorologist George Wright on Twitter.
