Hurricane Gustav

[Riverdog]

Gustav is the first hurricane threat since the pet forum started so I thought it may be a good idea to open a hurricane forum now. At this point Gustav may or may not hit Louisiana. Here is the latest Projected Path

[mjsmittyjr]

This is the latest as of 11:00 AM EST, it may take a path east of LA.

[silvaheyes]

This is the latest as of 11:00 AM EST, it may take a path east of LA.

Wow.. That path kind of reminds me of Katrina's.

[mjsmittyjr]

I'm sure the way they are talking about it building up to CAT 3 or better when entering into the Gulf, New Orleans better be ready to move.

[Riverdog]

Strengthening Gustav; New Depression Forms
Wayne Verno, Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
7:30 a.m. ET 8/28/2008
Based on the latest information from a Hurricane Hunter Aircraft early this morning, Gustav is beginning to strengthen as it nears Jamaica in the Caribbean. Maximum sustained winds are now 70 mph.

As of 8 a.m. EDT, the center of Gustav was located about 80 miles east Kingston, Jamaica, and was moving slowly southwest. Given a recent movement and redevelopment in a more southerly direction, it now appears the center of Gustav will past east, and perhaps south of Jamaica today, before turning back to the west.

View the Gustav Tracker.

Regardless if the center misses a direct hit on Jamaica, heavy rain and the threat for flash flooding will increase over Jamaica today, along with gusty winds and increased surf.

Gustav is forecast to make a turn in a more westerly direction, and eventually a west-northwest to northwest direction over the next few days. It is also forecast to continue to strengthen, and will likely be at hurricane strength, if not today, as it approaches the Cayman Islands later Friday.

Gustav is then forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, and continue tracking northwest or north. It could threaten some part of the US Gulf Coast by Labor Day.

View the projected path.

There is still some uncertainty regarding Gustav's future strength; which will likely be fine tuned based on what happens today. It is forecast to be a hurricane as it tracks through the Gulf of Mexico; possibly a major one. All interests along the Gulf Coast should pay very close attention to this potentially dangerous storm.

Meanwhile, a low pressure located several hundred miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands has become Tropical Depression Eight as of early this morning. Continued strengthening is forecast, with it likely becoming Tropical Storm Hanna today.

It is forecast to track northwest into the weekend, and become a hurricane by late this weekend. For now, it does not appear to be of any threat to land, but will need to be closely monitored beyond this weekend.

View the projected path.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic basin, a tropical wave was also located a few hundred miles west of the Cape Verde Islands. It remains disorganized for now, but it may begin to organize in the next few days. It will continue to be monitored as it moves westward.

[mjsmittyjr]

Looks like it going to be a busy season

[myerskt]

I was told today that LaQuinta Inn always allows pets. That is important info for an evacuation, because I would be travelling with 3 dogs. Has anyone else ever heard this or know of any other hotels that are pet friendly?

[silvaheyes]

I was told today that LaQuinta Inn always allows pets. That is important info for an evacuation, because I would be travelling with 3 dogs. Has anyone else ever heard this or know of any other hotels that are pet friendly?

http://www.petswelcome.com/ is a good source for that.

[myerskt]

WOW!!!! I am impressed!!! I'll be sharing this link with my co-workers.

[Riverdog]

Cindy is evacuating in the morning. When things return to normal, please try to check in so we know everyone made it through OK! I hope everyone in the affected areas plays it safe and doesn't try to ride this out.

I'll say a prayer for everyone!

[silvaheyes]

We're going to Houston, TX.. Kyle's job has a hotel there for us so we're going! We're leaving in a couple of hours and we're boarding the dogs at a kennel nearby so they'll be safe too. The goat is going to my parents which will be a bit more safe for her and the cat is going to have to brave it out in the house. :/ We got a decent deal on boarding though.. $26 a night for 4 Boxers.

What I don't understand is they constantly tell people to bring their pets and make you feel horrible but yet there are NO free programs to help out at all. You have to pay out the butt for boarding at most places and we were just lucky to find this place due to another kennel helping us out but that seems to be rare. I'm just disappointed with the whole evacuating system regarding pets.

[silvaheyes]

We made it to Houston.. We left at 1am and traffic was pretty decent. When we got into Texas it got clogged up REAL badly. We just made it to the hotel around 9:30am.. So beware of traffic if you're leaving today. I imagine a lot of people will decide last min. to leave and the roads will be full.

[mjsmittyjr]

It is now 8:15 PM in Jennings and all is fine, some trees down, some areas with power out, but for the most part the parish came out good.

[Riverdog]

I'm glad Jennings is still in one piece! Cindy is at her mom's house in Pineville right now with 59 mile per hour winds and no electric. They are still under a tornado watch. A tornado was spotted on the other side of the Parrish. She may have been better off staying in Jennings! The funny part is that her mom & dad are with us in WV!

mjsmitty did you stay in Jennings?

[mjsmittyjr]

Yes we stayed, the winds were ruff for a while .

They still have not lifted the evacuation order, so no one is allowed back in as of yet. If I hear, I will try to post.

[mjsmittyjr]

Evacuation order has been lifted, there is still some power outage located in the Hataway, Lake Arthur and Mermemtau area. But I did see a long line of utlitiy crews exiting off the interstated into Jennings.

[Riverdog]

Alexandria is a mess. Cindy tried to contact me earlier & left a message. The phone lines and power are down a tree knocked a pole down too. Her mom's house seems OK but all the neighbor's have trees on their roofs & outbuildings. It doesn't sound good but everyone is OK. Her cell phone isn't working either.

I think she is worried about the hospital so if anyone is driving by that way for any reason please let us know how it looks!

Thanks for the update mjsmitty!!

[mjsmittyjr]

I( will go by later today and let you know

[Riverdog]

Don't make a special trip and put yourself in danger!

[mjsmittyjr]

Not problem, I have no death wish or wanting to end my long life with a stupid mistake, I will go later today when the roads are clear.

[Riverdog]

Cindy is back safe and sound. No damage as far as I know except one little tree.
JAH should be open soon but will be short staffed. I think they were worried that there might be some pets that needed attention after the storm so they wanted to make sure they would be around.

[myerskt]

I'm glad everyone made it back safely. Now it looks like Gustov was just a practice run for the next storm.

[mjsmittyjr]

General Information

Emergency Food Stamps have been authorized for some of the surrounding parishes, Jeff Davis not being one of them.

The parishes declared eligible for disaster food stamps are:

Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

Contact 1-888-524-3578 press option 3 to learns specific site location to register.

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