New Orleans is considering evacuations after forecasters predicted Tropical Storm Gustav will return to a hurricane and enter the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as a major storm by the weekend.Tropical Storm Gustav continues to churn off the coast of Haiti, being downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm on Wednesday.
Hurricane forecasters were predicting on Tuesday that Gustav would skirt the western coast of Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour by Sunday
Commercial Brokerage Corp's Ed Kennedy said Tuesday: "There's the possibility of a Category 3 to Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf on Sunday. There's major change in the track just since yesterday, and I'm sure there's going to be more, but that's what has everyone's attention right now. If we get a major hurricane in the Gulf there's going to be a lot more short-covering."
Officials in Louisiana have asked residents to start preparing for a possible hit from Gustav this weekend, saying they should buy plenty of food and water, enough for 4-5 days, and whatever they or their pet may need.
Original Source : http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212167923.shtml
