Gustav Losing Momentum But Still Dangerous

AccuWeather.com News Forecast
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Gustav Losing Momentum But Still Dangerous

State College, Pa. -- August 31, 2008 -- The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Gustav is unexpectedly weakening, becoming a weak Category 3 hurricane with winds from 110 mph to 125 mph.

AccuWeather.com Senior Expert Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said in an interview, "Gustav lost some energy as it moved over Cuba for six hours. Now an upper level feature has developed which is creating a southwest wind flow high in the atmosphere. This southwest sheer is causing the hurricane to tilt slightly to the northeast -- if you've ever put your finger on a spinning top, and watched it start to get slower and wobble erratically, you can imagine how the asymmetrics of the storm are causing it to lose intensity."

"Gustav's chances of becoming a Category 4 storm are rapidly becoming more remote," Kottlowski said. "However, our projected path for the storm has been solid for three days. The storm is likely with current track to go through Terrebonne Parish, making landfall just southwest of Houma, Louisiana.

Major parts of the Gulf Coast are still in danger as Gustav is likely to land as a Category 3 storm and will cause a storm surge of 10 to 20 feet close to where it makes landfall. New Orleans may experience a storm surge up to 10 feet, which will test the strength of the newly rebuilt levees.

At 4:00 p.m. CDT, Gustav was 215 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving northwest at about 18 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph.

ENDS

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