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The wave heights reported by the buoys to the north and east of Gustav indicate that the storm will deliver on its potential of a very high storm surge. As of late evening, the buoys were reporting waves of 25-26 ft north and east of the center. Another buoy, very close to New Orleans, was already reporting a wave height of 11 ft. Keep in mind, the center of the storm is still 200 miles SSE of New Orleans.

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“This is worse than a Betsy, worse than a Katrina,” Nagin said.

by Leslie Williams, The Times-Picayune

Saturday August 30, 2008, 8:21 PM

Mayor Ray Nagin late Saturday warned that Gustav is the “mother of all storms” and ordered a mandatory evacuation for the West Bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and noon for the East Bank.

“We want 100 percent evacuation,” said Nagin. “It has the potential to impact every area of this metropolitan area.

Katrina had a footprint of about 400 miles, he said. Gustav is about 900 miles and growing, Nagin said.

“This is worse than a Betsy, worse than a Katrina,” Nagin said.

The mayor speculated that Gustav is so fierce Baton Rouge likely will experience 100 mph winds.

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Residents wait to board buses and trains to evacuate New Orleans, Louisiana, ahead of Hurricane Gustav, August 30, 2008 (Reuters)

 

Lines of people wait for buses and trains to evacuate them from the city at the Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans, Louisiana. (AFP/Getty Images/Mario Tama)

 

 

Traffic backs up along westbound Interstate 10, as residents of the New Orleans area evacuate due to the threat of Hurricane Gustav, Saturday morning Aug. 30, 2008, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Brian Lawdermilk)

 

Sat Aug 30, 3:52 PM ET

NBC News and news services

updated 7 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS – Around a million people took to Gulf Coast highways Saturday, boarding up homes and businesses and fleeing dangerous Hurricane Gustav by bus and automobile as the season’s most powerful Atlantic storm took aim at Louisiana.

At 5 p.m. ET, a hurricane watch was issued along the coast between High Island, Texas, and the Alabama-Florida border — an area that includes New Orleans. A watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.

Even forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami were surprised at how quickly Gustav gained strength as it charged over Cuba. It went from a tropical storm to a Category 4 in about 24 hours, and was likely to become a Category 5 — with sustained winds of 160 mph or more — by Sunday.

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BREAKING NEWS 2:02 PM CST

Hurricane Gustav has intensified further and is now a Category 5 before even entering the warm waters of the Gulf Of Mexico.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Associated Press reports that Gustav has strengthened to a Category 5 storm.

The National Hurricane Center on Saturday called Gustav an “extremely dangerous” storm. The increase in the storm’s intensity comes as people line up for buses to take them out of New Orleans. Traffic is also heavier on main highways out of the city as residents head north

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(CBS/AP) The difference between a monster and a wimp for Gulf of Mexico hurricanes often comes down to a small patch of warm deep water that’s easy to miss. It is called the Loop Current, and hurricane trackers say Gustav is headed right for it, reminiscent of Katrina.

Gustav is likely to reach this current late Saturday, experts say. What happens next will be crucial, maybe deadly.

If Gustav hits the Loop Current and lingers in that hot spot, watch out. If the storm misses it or zips through the current, then Gustav probably will not be much of a name to remember.

Storm-Fueling Current May Be Monster-Maker

Dire warnings for New Orleans

Police in New Orleans plan to go street to street with a tough message about getting out ahead of Hurricane Gustav: This time there will be no shelter of last resort.  Those who stay will be on their own.

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PEARL – Governor Haley Barbour issued mandatory evacuations for Harrison and Hancock counties beginning Sunday morning for people living the following:
· FEMA travel trailers.
· FEMA mobile homes.
· Mississippi Cottages.
· Residents in designated flood hazard zones.

“There is no question we are taking this storm seriously, but there is no need to panic,” Governor Barbour said at a news conference at the National Guard Armory Readiness Center in Gulfport. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, David Paulison, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and MEMA Director Mike Womack also attended the news conference.

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