Hurricane Gustav

This is a look at how things evolved with Hurricane Gustav from right before landfall, during landfall and afterwards. It was my first attempt to do a "Storm Alert Mode" continual posting of breaking news regarding the storm. I don't know if I will do it again, but it was pretty cool to do it once.
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 - 6:00 PM NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST STORM ALERT POST FOR GUSTAV
Strength: Category 1
Winds: 80 MPH
Central Pressure: 966 MB
Location: 15 Miles N of Lafayette, LA
Moving: NW 16 MPH
Expected To: Continue To Weaken

Comments: Hurricane Gustav is continuing to hammer inland Louisiana. New Orleans was spared that brunt and the levees seem to have held up to the challenge, despite being topped by a few feet. Gustav has spawned 100's of tornadoes and continues to do so. Gustav is still expected to stall over northwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas. As of now 2 million people in Louisiana are without power. Oil prices plummeted by $4.16, down to a closing prices of $111.30 a barrel.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 - 11:45 AM
Strength: Category 2
Winds: 110 MPH
Central Pressure: 955 MB
Location: 70 Miles SW of New Orleans
Moving: NW 15 MPH
Expected To: Weaken

Comments: I slept in :-P Anyway, Gustav has officially made landfall in south central Louisiana. There are widespread power outages as you would expect. The levees in New Orleans are holding up well as of now, however the water has risen to a point that it is overflowing in some areas. Also, there is a barge loose in one of the cdanals, and the fear is that it will crash into the side of the levee and repeat the situation that happened in 2005. As far as oil/gas prices go on the markets, it pretty interesting to say the least. Everyone was saying that it was going to skyrockect, and that would make sense. But oil prices have plummeted more than $4.50 a barrel, and gas price futures are trading down 10 cents a gallon. All of this will change of course if we hear of damage to oil rigs or refineries. Just FYI, I am now watching Tropical Storm Hanna in the Bahama's. It is expected to become a hurricane Wednesday and make landfall on the Georgia/South Carolina coast Friday. Also Tropical Depression 9, soon to be Tropical Storm Ike has formed way out in the Atlantic. That will be our next major hurricane, and it just may enter the Gulf of Mexico way down the road.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 - 11:00 PM
Strength: Category 3
Winds: 115 MPH
Central Pressure: 954 MB
Location: 220 Miles SE of New Orleans
Moving: NW 16 MPH
Expected To: Stay Same Strength

Comments: So Hurricane Gustav has held steady at 115 MPH. It is still a dangerous Category 3 Hurricane barreling down on Louisiana's coast. The forward speed has started to slow, and is expected to continue that trend and when it makes landfall and moves into north western Louisiana and eastern Texas, it could stall and cause catastrophic flooding. The first deaths have been reported here in the USA from Gustav. 3 critical care patients in New Orleans who were being evacuated from their hospitals died en route to their destination. Media coverage of Hurricane Gustav is extreme, non stop on every network. I am going to bed, and will update you tomorrow morning.


SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 - 10:10 PM
Strength: Category 3
Winds: 115 MPH
Central Pressure: 952 MB
Location: 260 Miles SSE of New Orleans
Moving: NW 17 MPH
Expected To: Slightly Strengthen

Comments: Hurricane Gustav was a Category 4 when it made landfall this time last night in Cuba with winds of 150 MPH. After reemerging into the Gulf of Mexico it had a hard time regaining the strength it had lost over land. However, it seems that the latest satellite images show it regaining good shape and the central pressure has steadily been dropping at a slow pace. I am pretty sure winds will atleast slightly increase when we get our update from the National Hurricane Center at 11 PM. This info that I have is from 8 PM. Hurricane force winds extend 70 miles out from the center and Tropical Storm force winds extend out 220 miles from the center. 96% of all oil in the Gulf have been shut down and evacuated. 95% of New Orleans residents evacuated. Hurricane Gustav has lead to the largest evacuation in Louisiana history. At one time, The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes was reporting live and a rain band came through and he saw rotation as tornado sirens blared. If that makes it to YouTube I will post the link.

What A Lazy Weekend

This weekend has been completely a non event for me. I kinda am bummed about it and kinda not, but not for reasons you may think. I'm bummed because I wanted to get out and go walking on the trails, go swimming, and be active. Take advantage of the last few weeks of summer left. Get a end of the season tan and stuff. However, I'm also not bummed cuz having a lazy weekend is kinda nice. No worries :-) So all I have been doing is watching the abundant, non stop coverage of Hurricane Gustav that will be making landfall in about 10-12 hours from now. Thankfully tomorrow is Labor Day so I have off and can watch the landfall :-D

HUMONGOUS Udate!

So lots to talk about in this post. I woulda made a video update but I didn't feel like it :-P So here we go, each updated subject will have it's own paragraph.

Phone: I was looking on YouTube and I saw that there is a new software update for the Voyager. It's like a total makeover and would basically be like having a new phone. And I've been itching for something new until I get a new phone, and this would be the prefect remedy. Well I called our local Annapolis Verizon and asked if they had the update there and they said yes but that they've been having issues with it so until next week instead of updating the phone you bring in, they just give you a new phone with the new software already installed! So I might be doing that today. The problem is, because of the big accident on the Bay Bridge a few weeks ago, they are doing reconstruction of the wall and it is causing a 4 hour backup. So once I cross that bridge, I know I will be in extreme traffic coming home. Is it worth it?
7:45 PM Update- I just got the software update, but not a new phone.


Yesterday: I was gonna go across the bridge and go shopping, eat dinner and get the software update for my phone yesterday, but at the last minute I changed my mind and went to Easton instead. I went to Applebee's, then got my haircut, as you can see in the picture to the left. Likey?



Hurricane Gustav: Well it happened, as I said it would on Tuesday. Hurricane Gustav has become a major hurricane. Today it is a Category 4. At this moment it has sustained winds of 145 MPH. It is gonna hit Cuba today and tonight enter the Gulf of Mexico. There it will become a Cat. 5 hurricane and move towards the Louisiana/Texas coast. My grandfather, who works for the electric company, has already been told he is leaving Monday morning and being sent to the Gulf Coast to help restore power in the aftermath. He did the same thing when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the same region in 2005. This also means that all the oil rigs are being evacuated and prices are about to skyrocket. They are in the direct path of this monster.

Gas Prices: Well, as you can imagine, with a huge hurricane about to pound the Gulf of Mexico, oil prices have shot up. Fortunately, atleast here, it hasn't been reflected in prices at the pump. Right now we have the lowest prices in that state, which has been the case this year, and the lowest prices in months. Two days ago I took the picture to the right of gas prices at $3.38 a gallon. That won't be the case as these next few days pass. Will Hurricane Gustav finally force our local gas station owners to raise the prices over $4 a gallon for the first time ever? We shall see.

Shopping Needs: I need to shop. Badly. I need winter clothes, but I still really need shoes. I'm still using the same pair of shoes and they are not comfy at all. Maybe if I cross the bridge to get the Voyager software update I will go ahead and get some shoes.
7:45 PM Update- I got the software update on phone and while waiting for it to finish, I went to the mall shoe shopping, didn't find any shoes I liked so I got frustrated and left. I did get some worthless socks though.

Blog: So I didn't want to make a separate post just for this so I will include it in this one for obvious reasons. When August 2008 ends, it will be the busiest month ever for my blog. For the first time in the over 2 years I have had this blog, I might actually reach the 30 posts in 1 month threshold! June of this year was the first time I reached 20 posts in a single month, and now just 2 short months later I may make it to 30. Either way, this will still be "most posted" month ever since the previous record is June 2008 with 22 posts, this is already the 28th post of this month. Awesome!

Hurricane Gustav... Crap!

Above is the forecast path to what will be a major hurricane. Hurricane Gustav is hitting Haiti right now, however as soon as it moves off the coast, it is expected to stay over warm Caribbean water and is therefore expected to rapidly strengthen, and explode into a major hurricane. That's not good at all. It is then forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico Saturday and continue to strengthen. We are potentially looking at a Category 5, the strongest there is, churning in the Gulf. As you see, the forecast has it aimed straight for the oil rigs of the Gulf coast. If Gustav, as forecasted, hits them with such stregnth, our gas prices will easily skyrocket to and possibly over the $5 a gallon range. Right now gas is $3.46 a gallon.