Hurricane update - 31 August (II)

Gustav is approaching New Orleans at a speed of about 18 mph. The storm appears to be intensifying, with winds currently at 115 mph. The National Weather Service has issued Hurricane Local Statements for the Gulf Coast. These can be accessed through the NHC website - if you are in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida, please read. In the case of Louisiana, as a matter of extreme urgency. Hurricane force winds will start to affect the Gulf Coast itself early tomorrow morning local time, with tropical storm force winds (i.e. galeforce and higher) from now onwards. Gustav is 215 miles from New Orleans, and the radius of tropical storm force winds is 220 miles.
Once Gustav makes landfall, it will probably grind to a halt and start to dump vast amounts of rain on Louisiana and surrounding states. It'll be up to 20 inches.

Once Gustav has disappeared off the weather maps, by the end of the coming week, the USA might be facing another hurricane hazard: Hanna. This is a tropical storm, affected by adverse atmospheric conditions as it approaches the Bahamas. After a jaunt southwest, the storm could well head northwest: into Georgia and South Carolina by the weekend. This is very long term, and the NHC isn't even sure about the short-term forecast for this system.