Good Monday everyone. August is going out with a bang as Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac rolls across the Gulf of Mexico and threatens the central gulf coast states. This is going to be an intensifying hurricane as it comes ashore late Tuesday into Wednesday. From there, it’s likely to work toward the Ohio Valley and bring some much needed rainfall to a lot of folks.

Let’s start with today and roll forward. We have a cold front heading into the state later today into Tuesday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will fire up along this boundary during this time. A strong storm or two is certainly a possibility. Temps will come down several degrees as the front moves in.

The star of the weather show is Hurricane Isaac. This setup for Isaac appears to be one primed for rapid strengthening and I can see this storm approaching major hurricane status. The models continue to shade the track a little farther westward toward Louisiana for a late Tuesday night landfall. Here’s the latest to track the storm…

[Image of 5-day forecast and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

goes east infra red hurricane sector image

What happens to Isaac after landfall? First things first and that is to get the landfall part of it nailed and that may not happen until Tuesday. If we assume this storm heads into Louisiana, here’s a rough stab at what I see the remnants of Isaac doing…

That is not even close to being a certainty and it will likely change over the coming days. A track like that would bring a surge of tropical air and moisture into the state by Friday and it would carry us through much of the Labor Day Weekend. This would result in tropical showers and thunderstorms and could result in some problems if the remnants go directly over us.

At this point… I don’t see much of a way to avoid getting, at least, scattered showers and storms from Isaac.

I will update as needed. Have a great Monday and take care.