7:00 AM | Isaac to strengthen as it approaches the central Gulf coast; hot again here through tomorrow

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, hot, mid 90’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, lows in the low 60’s

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90’s

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, low 60’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90’s

Thursday

Mainly sunny, very warm, maybe a shower or thunderstorm, upper 80’s

Friday

Mainly sunny, very warm, upper 80’s

Saturday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid-to-upper 80’s

Discussion

Tropical Storm Isaac is now located over the eastern Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 65 mph and it is moving WNW at 13 mph. Isaac will strengthen over the next 24-48 as it heads on a course that takes it towards the central Gulf coast states of Louisiana and Mississippi with landfall possible on Wednesday. Intensification should bring about hurricane status for Isaac over the next 24 hours and there is the chance for it to strengthen enough to reach major hurricane status (category 3 or higher) as it approaches the central Gulf coast. Warm waters and better atmospheric conditions (less wind shear, less dry air) will lead to the strengthening over the next 24-48 hours. There has not been a major hurricane hit on the US since Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 and that is a record amount of time between major hurricane hits in the US. One other note, while Hurricane Katrina was of course devastating for the New Orleans metro region, it was actually weakening from category 5 status to 4 and then 3 upon making landfall whereas the potential problem here with Isaac is that it very well could be strengthening from a category 1 to 2 and possibly even a 3 right before landfall. Closer to home, upper level high pressure continues to remain anchored over the area and temperatures will respond by reaching the 90’s both today and tomorrow.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/Y4jCAOD8Juw