In view of the urgency and in the hope that lives can be saved in the hours ahead, we are publishing all updates from our reliable sources as we received them.
From Michael Edward: 28/08/12 21:21
1620 UTC...information
Reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that maximum winds associated with Isaac have increased
to 75 mph...120 km/h. On this basis...Isaac is being upgraded to a hurricane.
present movement...NW or 310 degrees at 10 mph...17 km/h
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/at201209.public.html
*It's increasing in size and strength and it has slowed down to just 17 km/h,
which means it will grow much stronger before it hits Nola in about 17 hours.*
On 28/08/12 21:21, ME wrote:
> Something amazing I heard on a special Isaac weather channel on my satellite (I believe it was Nola TV channel 6) is that the waves being generated outside of the eye were (as of 14 hours ago) 28-32 feet high. This is NOT the tidal surge (predicted at 9-12 feet), but the height of the waves being created outside the center of the storm.
>
> What that means is the Gulf coast of Louisiana, as well as Mississippi and Alabama, will have a combined tidal surge and wave height creation where there will be waves hitting the land at 40 feet or more higher than normal sea level. There is not a single levee in Louisiana, especially Nola, that can withstand a 40 ft. wall of water. Most were designed for no more than 10-15 foot above sea level surges of water.
> M E
Nola - Isaac Updates Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:42:56 -0400
So far, everything I've said in advance about ISAAC has come true. Now we just need to wait and see, over hours-days, what happens with the sinkhole(s), butane cavern(s), and New Madrid Fault as ISAAC eventually heads north.
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17:50 UTC - Braithwaite, LA Asst. Fire Chief "This is worse than Katrina"
18:14 UTC - Category 3 Hurricane, 113 MPH winds
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy289/TGP37/Isaac/isaac212.jpg
Live Doppler Radar Nola/Baton Rouge showing the Cat 3 wind right now.
http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?product=N0V&rid=LIX&loop=yes
Plaquemines Parish - Water is to the roof top of a 3 story building.
https://twitter.com/JMLeblanc23/status/240853513649934336/photo/1
The center eye of ISAAC is now directly over the Louisiana sinkhole and butane cavern.
Transcription from TV: Jonathan Erdman (Meteorologist) said "By the way...the 12.67 of rain SO FAR at New Orleans Audubon Park exceeds every Louisiana rain total from Hurricane Katrina. He also mentioned 11.63" of rain so far at Slidell, LA.
ISAAC has slowed down and is moving 5-6 Miles Per Hour to the North West.
14 feet waves off Louisiana coast
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wvue/weather_images/Buoys_Wave_Heights.jpg
OVERALL, the worst is yet to come between now and 24 hours from now with more rain, more levee breaks (3 so far) and Nola about to be under water worse than with Katrina. The Mayor of Nola said that the Nola pumps can drain only ONE inch per hour of rain water. So far, Nola is experiencing 2 or more inches of rain each hour.