Hurricane Gustav Takes Dead Aim at New Orleans

By: Lowell
Published On: 8/27/2008 5:54:40 PM


Right now, this does not look good for New Orleans, let's just hope the storm misses.  Meanwhile, Gustave also threatens to "swamp" (drown out?) news about the Republican convention, scheduled to start on Monday - just as Gustav could be hitting New Orleans. As Bob Brigham at Calitics points out, "I doubt Republicans will change the program to talk about global warming and effective government and protecting America."  I think that's a pretty solid assumption right there.


Comments



theres more out there..... (pvogel - 8/27/2008 6:21:19 PM)
at least 3 more from africa to the lesser antilles, and stuff in africa that might survive the saharan air.

Since all the hot air next week will be in the twin cities, many hurricanes could fire up.



That's about the last thing they want next week.. (ericy - 8/27/2008 6:32:09 PM)

I think they would rather have Ted Stevens or Larry Craig give the keynote than have another hurricane hit during their convention and remind people how they badly they screwed it up with Katrina.

In reality the forecasts are still uncertain this far out.  Give it until Saturday, and then it will be a lot clearer what is really going to happen here.



Hummm... (HisRoc - 8/27/2008 6:57:22 PM)
So, now we're factoring property damage, human suffering, and loss of life in our political calculus?

"...lets just hope the storm misses" is a fig-leaf defense for what you are implying:  wouldn't it be wonderful if we had another Katrina in the middle of the Republican convention.

Not cool, Lowell.  Say you're sorry and take down this diary.



This is what happens .... (ub40fan - 8/27/2008 6:59:16 PM)
when you pray for rain!!  

As Drudge pointed out a day or two ago .... Katrina ll during the Republican Convention .... a sad situation for New Orleans once again.



Tropical storm or hurricane? (Quizzical - 8/27/2008 7:18:49 PM)
What are they predicting as far as wind speeds?  Right now it says tropical storm.


Possible Category 3 Hurricane (Lowell - 8/27/2008 7:20:49 PM)
when it gets close to Louisiana...


They expect it to increase (Pain - 8/27/2008 7:21:15 PM)

As it moves over warm water in the gulf, it's expected to gain strength, possibly as much as a cat 3.


Awful news (Alicia - 8/27/2008 7:55:38 PM)
our country hasn't even rebuilt New Orleans?  The structures there probably wouldn't do well with a level 3...

I sure do hope it just swings back out to sea or dies out.



weather discussion new orleans (pvogel - 8/27/2008 8:01:09 PM)
from wunderground.com

TIME       18Z WED 06Z THU 18Z THU 06Z FRI 18Z FRI 18Z SAT 18Z SUN
PERIODS         TO      TO      TO      TO      TO      TO      TO  
            06Z THU 18Z THU 06Z FRI 18Z FRI 18Z SAT 18Z SUN 18Z MON

FORECAST HOUR    (12)   (24)    (36)    (48)    (72)    (96)   (120)
NEW ORLEANS LA 34  X   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)  10(10)  11(21)
NEW ORLEANS LA 50  X   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)   4( 4)   5( 9)
NEW ORLEANS LA 64  X   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)   X( X)   2( 2)   2( 4)

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THERE STILL REMAINS SIGNIFICANT
UNCERTAINTY REGARDING GUSTAV'S ULTIMATE TRACK AT DAYS 3-5...AND IT
IS MUCH TOO SOON TO KNOW WHAT IMPACT THIS SYSTEM MAY HAVE ON THE
NORTHERN GULF COAST

low aloft will shift from west to
northeast and east...well ahead of Gustav. Continental flow will
decrease the rain chances below norm... but will keep a slight
chance to low chances of rain over the weekend. It has been a
chore discerning the different tracks for Gustav. Please refer to
Tropical Storm Gustav discussion (tcdat2) for more information. We
introduced higher rain chances for Labor Day and Tuesday with the
last package. Now...we have introduced higher winds across land
forecast area and high precipitation totals associated with Gustav. In
addition...we have lowered day time temperatures for this time



Faux News: "Gustav Threatens GOP Convention Plans" (Lowell - 8/28/2008 1:52:51 PM)
Faux News ("unfair AND unbalanced!") reports that "Republicans could postpone their upcoming national convention in St. Paul if Tropical Storm Gustav makes landfall over the weekend."  Karl "Faux News Analyst" Rove chimes in as well:

"The Republicans can't seem to get a break when it comes to August and when it comes to the weather," said Rove, a FOX News analyst. "I know this is being thought a lot about in Washington and at the White House and discussed and I suspect they will monitor it carefully and figure out what to do."


So, just to summarize: (Ron1 - 8/28/2008 2:03:26 PM)
When the most devastating storm in American history is rolling ashore in August of a non-election year, neither Bush nor McCain can summon the energy to shorten either their vacations or reschedule their photo-ops. In fact, it's 3 or 4 days before the White House even realizes what in the Hell is going on during Katrina, and McCain and Bush were playing like grade school kids having a birthday party while the storm was unleashing its initial devastation.

But in August of 2008 when they need four good days of unfiltered propaganda and straight out fictional storytelling televised to the masses, well -- now we might need to alter the schedule.

Message received, loud and clear. Today's Republican Party -- they can run a campaign, but not the country.  



Foreign Policy blog weighs in (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:34:01 PM)
Don't ask me why Foreign Policy is talking about this, by the way, but it seems like everyone is so why not? :)

...the last thing McCain wants is a crisis in the Crescent City reminding everyone how incompetent the Bush administration's response in 2005 was. That sound you hear is the Obama campaign readying spots featuring Bush, McCain, and the infamous "heckuva job, Brownie" line.


And the Moonies...er, (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:38:47 PM)
Washington Times reports as well:

Bush administration officials are taking political cover from a duo of tropical storms on a path toward New Orleans by announcing aggressive preparation roles Thursday, in an effort not to repeat their public relations disaster of Hurricane Katrina on the eve of its third anniversary.

[...]

Forecasters have revised their estimates that Gustav will land on Labor Day Monday and last until 8 a.m. on Tuesday. As a further reminder to the disastrous mistakes made by the Bush administration during Hurricane Katrina, Gustav will arrive just in time for the Republican National Convention.



NY Times: "Karmic Payback?" (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:00:36 PM)
The New York Times weighs in:

President Bush has never been accountable for his unconscionable missteps during Hurricane Katrina.

There has never been an adequate investigation of what went wrong. Too little has been done to assure that a similar tragedy will not happen again. New Orleans has not been rebuilt. And the government has not done enough to help the survivors.

We hope Gustav fades harmlessly away. And if it does hit land, we hope the people in its path are properly taken care of.

We must say, though, that we like the idea that as the Bush administration comes to an end, nature is forcing the President and the Republican National Committee to think back to the horrifically bungled response to Katrina - one of the worst part-natural, part-man-made disasters in American History.

Exactly!



Bush may skip Republican convention (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:40:35 PM)
This is interesting.



CBS News (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:42:04 PM)
adds to the story:

Under the circumstances, John McCain would probably be thrilled if George W. Bush didn't show up at the Republican National Convention. For that matter, Bush would probably be thrilled if he got a second chance to respond to a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast, without screwing it up this time.

They might both get their wish.



Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry (Lowell - 8/28/2008 2:45:39 PM)
both appear to be suspending their plans to attend the Republican National Convention. See here and here for more.