Gustav growing, Hanna forms

By Josh Marthers
Meteorologist
Published: August 28, 2008

After being ripped apart from crossing the island nation of Haiti, the circulation of Tropical Storm Gustav has improved dramatically over the past twelve hours and the storm is nearing hurricane strength near the eastern coast of Jamaica this afternoon.  Flooding rains and strong winds will pummel the island through the next 24 hours before Gustav pulls away from Jamaica and begins to strengthen substantially over the warmest waters in the entire Atlantic basin.

The forecast track takes Gustav into the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane, possibly becoming a Category 4 storm by late in the weekend.  The latest information suggests a landfall is likely somewhere along the Gulf coast between Galveston, TX and Mobile, AL by Tuesday morning.  The mostly likely area to take a direct hit appears to be Louisiana, possibly near New Orleans.

We also have a new tropical storm just northeast of the Lesser Antilles.  Hanna formed late this morning and is expected to become a hurricane within the next few days.  The forecast track on this storm is a little less certain, but a general motion toward the west or northwest is anticipated through the weekend.  By early next week, Hanna could be nearing the Bahamas and possibly threatening a part of the southeastern United States coastline.  The latest guidance suggests Florida may stand the best chance of seeing a direct impact from Hanna during the middle of next week