Gustav Seems to be Headed Toward Louisiana

Gustav:  The main weather story in the tropics is Gustav.  The system has weakened to a Tropical Storm as it went over the western peninsula of Haiti yesterday.  The mountains in Haiti have ripped up the storm.  Winds are down to 60 mph, but the storm is sitting over water now as it slowly moves to the NW at 5 mph.  A gradual turn to the west is forecast during the next few days, and the forward speed will pick up too.  As it moves away from Haiti, it is forecast to strengthen back into a hurricane, and it could strengthen rapidly. 
The forecast track calls for Gustav to be a Category 3 storm by Saturday as it sits just to the south of Cuba.  Then the storm is forecast to turn to the northwest, and head into the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday.  Now the question on everyone's mind is where will it go from there??  At the moment, the track seems to take it toward Louisiana.  By early Monday morning, the track has it sitting in the middle of the Gulf as a major hurricane.  It is very likely it will maintain this strength since the water temperatures in the Gulf are in the mid to upper 80s - fuel for the storm. 
HOWEVER, forecasting a perfect track 4 to 5 days out has a great deal of possible error.  The storm could move 200 miles east or west of the center line, and that is why you NEVER just follow the center track of a storm.  Look at the whole forecast cone! 
We need to start preparing as if the storm might head toward Louisiana.  Be sure to have your hurricane kit ready, and prepare your family as to what might need to be done ahead of time.  Have a route planned to take if you live in an area that might need to be evacuated.

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