Hurricane Isaac On Track to Hit New Orleans on Katrina Anniversary
Hurricane Isaac's original forecast had the storm going up the East coast through Florida, but it's shifted to the left and now it's going to hit the Gulf of Mexico. The latest predictions have Isaac making landfall in New Orleans early Wednesday, the seven year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. UPDATE: The map shows the latest updated track, as of 5:00 a.m. Monday morning.
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As it shifts through the Gulf, Accuweather.com warns it could strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall in Louisiana:
As the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center has been calling for since Thursday, Isaac is expected to slam into the northern Gulf Coast around Tuesday night as a Category 2 hurricane (with maximum sustained winds between 96 and 110 mph).
There is concern that if Isaac tracks more westward toward New Orleans, La., than Pensacola, Fla.--essentially spending more time over water--the storm could become a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) prior to landfall.
Isaac, still a tropical storm, is currently hitting the Florida Keys and other southern parts of the state. Isaac already caused the cancellation of the first day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
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The NOAA has Isaac hitting New Orleans early Wednesday morning. Should Isaac hit New Orleans on Wednesday, as CNN's Emily Smith pointed out, it would be seven years to the day of Hurricane Katrina hitting the city. Gov. Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency for Louisiana. New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu also declared a state of emergency for the city. Jindal said mandatory evacuations could be ordered on Monday if it looks like the storm is going to really slam into the state.
