Three years ago today, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf of Mexico, leveling cities and causing billions of dollars in damage. In fact, New Orleans has yet to fully recover from the catastrophe.
Tropical storm Gustav now spins off the west coast of Jamaica and is poised to gain strength in the coming days to reach hurricane strength. NOAA predicts, using a three-day forecast track, that the storm is headed straight for New Orleans and the surrounding areas in Louisiana and Mississippi. (Track the storm)Forecasters say that Gustav will reach hurricane strength when it passes Cuba sometime early on Sunday morning. The difficult thing to predict is how the storm will behave once it reaches the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. However likely or not, a similar storm with a similar track in 2005 began in the same manner.
Forecasters cautioned that the path of Gustav — like that of most hurricanes — remained uncertain.
"It is simply impossible to determine exactly where and when Gustav will make final landfall," said Richard Knabb of the hurricane center. "The chances of hurricane-force winds within the next five days are essentially the same at each individual location from the Florida Panhandle coast westward through the entire coastline of Louisiana."
Video: Gustav Set to Batter Cuba, Enter Gulf of Mexico
Fears the Gustav could hurt Gulf oil production sent oil prices spiking above $120 a barrel this week before they settled at $115.59 on Thursday. But they were creeping up again on Friday, jumping past $116 a barrel.
The Gulf has 4,000 oil rigs and half of America's refining capacity. Hundreds of offshore workers have already been pulled out and analysts said the storm could send U.S. gas prices back over $4 a gallon.
For more on hurricane preparedness visit http://www.noaawatch.gov/themes/tropical_preparedness.php . Sphere: Related Content
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