All Quiet On Western front...

My last post stated to relax as I felt now Cat. 2 Hurricane Sally would curve and stay far enough to our east to spare NOLA of any major impacts beside some high water outside the levee system.  The new model runs continue the shift to the east of the center line and that's what NHC has done.

The new shift now takes the center line EAST of Biloxi near Pascagoula meaning the brunt of the storm will be from Gulfport eastward.  NHC has extended hurricane warnings to Navarre Beach.  My neighbors are in a small condo group in Perdido Key right on the beach and I have suggested they get back into their car and head east of Panama City to spend the night.  A Cat. 2 is no animal to mess with.  Hope they heed my advice?

Hurricane Sally's inner core has become well defined and there is still some time for it to reach a Cat. 3 (it might already be that as Zack Fradella just showed an oil rig near the center at 117 mph!) before up welling of cooler water, eye wall replacement cycle & wind shear starts to weaken the system.  Radar confirms Sally is still heavily weighted on her north and east sides.

The only thing that still "makes me nervous" is Sally's slow forward motion.  Everything else suggests this will be a Mississippi/Alabama & Florida storm with the worst from Biloxi eastward to Destin.

The storm surge predictions have yet to be lowered for us and the northerly winds are piling the higher water levels on the south side of Lake P.  I do like seeing our wind direction more northerly telling me Sally will head to our east.  So the bottom line is this.  RIGHT NOW, IF the center line track proves reality, SE LA. will see very little impacts (other than high water outside the levees) with rainfall maybe an inch if we get a stray outer band/Squall.  Once east of the Pearl River to Gulfport, down in Palquemines and eastern St. Bernard winds will gust to 40-60+ mph.   From Biloxi to the east, you could get into the eye wall with winds of 100+.   As I mentioned before, we can relax, BUT not consider the  all danger is over as Hurricanes can do strange things.   Let's keep watching and hoping the computer models are correct for us.  Pray for our friends to our east as they have a long couple of days.  Next update around 10 PM unless I see something bad.  Stay tuned!