Beyond Katrina

Pilots Sta E, SW Pass, LA, Pilottown, LA clocking 55 mph wind gusts - winds from the SE

The PT station recorded a 60 mph gust at around 2:00 am this morning...as of 5:00 am New Orleans Lake front is getting gusts near 50 mph...Wind gusts in the Baton Rouge metro area are about 20 mph not anything to write home about but it is nice and gusty out there this am - trees are getting another pruning...

Courtesy-- NOAA

Ike gains strength over Gulf, aims for Texas

A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued from the mouth of the Mississippi River westward to Cameron Louisiana at 4 p.m. CDT. A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours. Continue>>>

Plaquemines Parish levee overtopped, subdivision threatened

"We need to get everyone out now"

Plaquemines Parish workers have been furiously working on the levee along the Clearwater Canal since mid-afternoon. Floodwaters spilling over the top of the levee threaten the Braithwaite Park subdivision.The levee has not breached, but authorities are not hopeful. Continue>>>

Wind whips river backwards

The strong easterly wind is giving the false appearance that the Mississippi River is flowing backward. Continue at NOLA.COM >>>

Pilots Sta E, SW Pass, LA, Pilottown, LA Reporting 76 mph Winds

Photo credit: Matthew White

5:13 am - Pilottown Station, SE Pass of the Missisippi River - winds from Gustav were clocked at 91 mph, are down to 83 mph but...wind highest gust was a robust 118 mph

3:03 am - Pilottown Station, SE Pass of the Missisippi River,  is reporting 71 mph winds with gusts to 100 mph. This is the last outpost on the Mississippi River.Photographer Matthew White  has extensively documented Pilottown both pre and post Katrina. I am happy to say he took shots of the locale a couple of months ago. Not sure what the place is going to look like after Gustav roars through. It's a shame because the river pilots have been rebuilding the Katrina damaged structures.

 

New Orleans ports brace for Hurricane Gustav

HOUSTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Ship movement along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans stopped on Saturday as powerful Hurricane Gustav churned toward the Louisiana coast, and port operators made last-minute preparations. Continue>>>

Hurricane Watch in Effect for Louisiana Parishes

A HURRICANE WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI...LAZ038-040-049-050-056>070-MSZ080>082-310030-/O.NEW.KLIX.HU.A.1007.080830T2122Z-000000T0000Z/TANGIPAHOA-ST. TAMMANY-ASCENSION-LIVINGSTON-ASSUMPTION-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST-UPPER LAFOURCHE-ST. CHARLES-UPPER JEFFERSON-ORLEANS-UPPER PLAQUEMINES-UPPER ST. BERNARD-UPPER TERREBONNE-LOWER TERREBONNE-LOWER LAFOURCHE-LOWER JEFFERSON-LOWER PLAQUEMINES-LOWER ST. BERNARD-HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON-422 PM CDT SAT AUG 30 2008...HURRICANE WATCH IN EFFECT......NEW INFORMATION...A HURRICANE WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI. THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANSAND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN.AT 400 PM CDT...THE EYE OF HURRICANE GUSTAV WAS LOCATED NEARLATITUDE 22.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 82.9 WEST OR ABOUT 130 MILES EASTNORTHEAST OF THE WESTERN TIP OF CUBA. GUSTAV IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF GUSTAV WILL CROSS WESTERN CUBA TONIGHT...THEN EMERGE OVER THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO EARLY ON SUNDAY...AND REACH THE NORTHERN GULF ON MONDAY....NEXT UPDATE...THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED WITH MORE DETAILS AROUND 6 PM CDT.$$Issuing Weather Forecast Office Homepage

Gustav more dangerous, will threaten West Bank with flooding

Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune

On that track, a Louisiana State University coastal scientist says, storm surge could reach the top or overtop levees on the West Bank, could raise water to 8 feet -- plus waves -- along levees on the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, and combined with a water-swollen Tchefuncte River, could push surge into Madisonville on the Northshore.

 http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2008/08/gustav_more_dangerous_will_thr.html

Gustav has Louisiana on alert: Evacuations Could Start Early as Friday

The National Hurricane Center forecasts Gustav -- the first serious storm to threaten Louisiana since Katrina and Rita -- will grow into a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds by Sunday afternoon, when it is expected to hover about 300 miles south of the Mississippi River's mouth. That forecast places the New Orleans area within the five-day "cone of error," which accounts for expected variation in predictions, and indicates a 5 percent chance of tropical storm force winds -- at least 45 mph -- reaching the city by Sunday afternoon. There is a 5 percent chance of 65 mph winds reaching Plaquemines, St. Bernard and lower Jefferson Parish by the same time. Continue>>>

Mississippi River Oil Spill - Barge Salvage Operations End

Workers continue to clean oil from a section of the Mississippi River shoreline near the Conoco Phillips Alliance Terminal in Belle Chasse, La., Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. The workers were using mops known as pom-poms, which only absorb hydrocarbons such as oil and other petroleum products.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson)

 

Crews completed removing oil and water from the DM 932 barge (center) Aug. 6, 2008. A cargo surveyor estimated more than 165,000 gallons of oil and water mix has been pumped and transferred to a holding barge (lower right). (U.S. Coast Guard photo/ Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson)

An oil cleanup crew continues to remove oil from a section of shoreline along the Mississippi River near Jesuit Bend, La., Aug. 6, 2008. The crew is part of ongoing efforts to clean areas impacted by oil released from the DM 923 barge, which is being salvaged at the Crescent City Connection Bridge in New Orleans. (U.S. Coast Guard photo / Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson)

The bow section of the fuel barge DM 932 is lifted out of the Mississippi River Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008, during salvage operations in New Orleans. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

A crewmember heaves a mooring line to the pier at the New Orleans Port Authority Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008, as the first half of salvage operations to remove the barge DM 932 near completion. 

       

    (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

In this photo illustration by the U.S. Coast Guard, oil spill cleanup progress can be seen after additional release of oil during salvage operations on the barge DM 932 on the Mississippi River at New Orleans Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The skimmer vessels and other work boats were pre-positioned downriver from the salvage operations to make cleanup easier after the expected oil spill.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

oil spill cleanup progress can be seen after additional release of oil during salvage operations on the barge DM 932 on the Mississippi River at New Orleans Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The skimmer vessels and other work boats were pre-positioned downriver from the salvage operations to make cleanup easier after the expected oil spill.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)          

 

Cleanup crews work to place sorbent boom along the New Orleans waterfront Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008, after the barge DM 932's bow section was lifted from the Mississippi River. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

The bow section of the barge DM 932 aboard a work barge after it was raised by salvage crews under the Crescent City Connection Bridge, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The barge was involved in a vessel collision July 23 and a portion of its oil cargo spilled into the Mississippi River. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann)

Oil skimming vessels, directed by the Mississippi River oil spill Unified Command, work to contain and clean up an oil discharge that occurred during the raising of the bow section of the barge DM 932 under the Crescent City Connection Bridge, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The skimming vessels, and other work boats, were pre-positioned along the New Orleans waterfront so cleanup workers could respond to the anticipated release of oil during salvage operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann)

Oil skimming vessels, directed by the Mississippi River oil spill Unified Command, work to contain and clean up an oil discharge that occurred during the raising of the bow section of the barge DM 932 under the Crescent City Connection Bridge, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. The skimming vessels, and other work boats, were pre-positioned along the New Orleans waterfront so cleanup workers could respond to the anticipated release of oil during salvage operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann)   

The stern section of the fuel barge DM 932 is placed aboard a carrier barge as salvage operations of the wreck on the Mississippi River at New Orleans come to an end Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. The bow section of the barge was removed from the river August 9. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

The stern section of the fuel barge DM 932 is lifted out of the Mississippi River at New Orleans as salvage operations near completion Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. The carrier barge transporting the other half of the wreck can be seen in the background. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor) 

The stern section of the wrecked fuel barge DM 932 is lifted out of the Mississippi River at New Orleans as salvage operations of the wreck site reach an endpoint Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

The stern section of the wrecked fuel barge DM 932 is lifted out of the Mississippi River at New Orleans as salvage operations of the wreck site reach an endpoint Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

A Coast Guard response boat patrols the security zone at the scene of the salvage operations of the wrecked fuel barge on the Mississippi River at New Orleans Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. The security zone was ordered by the Captain of the Port to ensure safety of operations and to lessen further contamination of vessels that may transit the area. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam C. Baylor)

The stern section of the barge DM 932 is raised from the Mississippi River in New Orleans Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. The bow section, raised August 9, can be seen in the foreground on the work barge awaiting the stern. Skimming crews were nearby to remove the oil that the barge sections released when they were raised. The barge DM 932 was involved in a vessel collision July 23 and a portion of its oil cargo spilled into the Mississippi River. (US Coast Guard photo/PA3 Stephen Lehmann)