Worsening Situation for New Orleans
By Quincy Vagell on August 28, 2012, 8:25pm
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Hurricane Isaac has made its first landfall about 90 miles southeast of New Orleans, but the city will be experiencing some nasty conditions into this evening.
At 8 p.m., winds were gusting to 48 knots (55 mph), but that's not the big story for the "Big Easy." With the eyewall moving at a WNW movement, winds, tropical downpours and a whole lot of water is being surged into the area, including Lake Pontchartrain.
Looking at the image below, this is one of the worst possible tracks for a hurricane to take, with respect to storm surge.
In addition, the above image shows very intense bands of rain and tropical thunderstorms approaching the area. Widespread flooding is already taking place, but this will cause many low-lying areas to become underwater or deeper underwater over the next few hours.
The slow-moving nature of the storm does not make the situation any better. Water will continue to funnel in with easterly winds, causing water levels to only go higher. Rainfall amounts themselves will be staggering, with many areas in or near New Orleans expected to end up with over a foot of rainfall, by the time the storm eventually moves away.
A general WNW to NW track is expected, which should bring Hurricane Isaac onshore again with its second landfall. From there, the storm should begin to weaken. With that said, the heavy rains will persist for quite some time, even though the winds associated with the storm will begin to weaken.
View live radar as Isaac approaches Louisiana for a second landfall.
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