Tropical Storm Issac is now bearing down on the Gulf Coast gaining strength slowly and will likely be a Category 1 Hurricane by the time it makes landfall late tonight or early Wednesday. While the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Region brace themselves for the unknown, a sigh of relief in Tampa, Florida where the Republican National Convention is going on. Tampa was in the orginal projected track of the storm, which took a dramatic turn once into the Gulf Of Mexico, and there are still some flooding concerns in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
According to the National Weather Service, Issac is headed for landfall in the southern coast of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi while the Florida panhandle and Tampa could stiil see strong winds and rain but it is certainly a better outlook now with thousands of visitors and travelers moving into that area for the RNC. Issac has forced hundreds of flight cancellations in South Florida, a total of 555 at Miami International Airport alone on Sunday. Issac is now 400 miles wide and pushing winds at 105 mph as it moves into the Gulf region, where a stretch of 300 miles of coastline is on alert, and should be labeled an official hurricane at some point today.
Issac Now An Official Hurricane / New Orleans, Gulf Coast Bracing For A Long Night was originally published on kissrichmond.com
