Once again, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is facing a major hurricane.  Possible landfall of Hurricane Katrina as a Category 4 hurricane somewhere between Pensacola, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana by Monday afternoon.

New Orleans is the worst possible place a hurricane could hit.  They don't call it the world's most famous sinking city for nothing.  It is rumoured that the New Orleans Coroner's office has 10,000 body bags on hand just in case of such a scenario.  I pray that this thing stays away from there and moves further west before it makes landfall.  Eastward movement would put it too close to the mouth of the Mississippi River; which could push water into New Orleans and breach their levys.

Either way, this sucks.

Read on for images and links to various hurricane information web sites...

Click here to visit the National Hurricane Center or visit the Weather Underground for more info. You can also view the most current This Website.

Here is an incredible infra-read satellite image.  Notice the way two systems, one over Texas and Louisiana, and the storm itself, seem to connect to each other across the Gulf of Mexico.

If you're reading this, please pray for the safety of everyone on the Gulf Coast.  There is NO SUCH THING as a "minimal hurricane"!  New Orleans... get out while you can!  There is less than 48 hours before landfall!

UPDATE: August 28, 11:26 a.m. CST

Well, things are looking grim.  Katrina is now a Category 5 hurricane and is still on it's projected path right down our throats.  If she stays on her current path we will be in the northeast quadrant of the storm... the absolute worst place to be.  Some forecasters are beginning to compare this storm to Camille... which is a very bad thing.  We are currently finishing boarding up our windows.  Then we will hunker down under the stairwell in the studio later tonite.  Officials are expecting that we will be experiencing tropical storm force winds by early this evening.  I can also see the first squall lines showing up on the New Orleans Radar loop.

New Orleans has been evacuating since yesterday.  I fear more for them than I do for us.  My prayers are with everyone facing this bitch.

Here are a few more images for your viewing pleasure...

I'll be making another entry later today.  Until then, I have more boards to put up.

UPDATE: August 28, 4:36 p.m. CST

The feeder bands have started moving in.  You can really hear the wind moving through the trees.  Forecasters say that we'll be feeling winds in upwards of 130 mph in Gulfport by 7 a.m. tomorrow.  Storm surge over 20 feet!

So, since we all might be dead by tomorrow, I'd appreciate some Song Plays

I'm hungry... time to stuff face.  Crawling up and down a ladder and nailing up wood over windows gives a man an appetite.

UPDATE: August 28, 7:13 p.m. CST

Ok, I'm fed... and exhausted.  We're still covering things up with plastic.  The kids are jumpy.  They can tell we're nervous.

If we get the winds they're forecasting, I fully expect to loose the roof of the studio.  It is tin over wooden trusses, even though the building itself is made of cinder block.  We should be safe from the storm surge because we're about 28 feet above sea level where we are.  I'm sure we'll have enough water to deal with without it.

We still have power, satellite TV, DSL access and phone service.  Who knows how long that'll last.

Almost ready for the ride.  Just a few more sheets of plastic to place and then we can chill.

Here is the latest doppler radar image... here she comes, ready or not.

UPDATE: August 28, 11:17 p.m. CST

Man, I've had enough!  We finally have (almost) everything covered up.  It is still raining, but not very hard.  The wind is gusting pretty good.  My wife, Isabelle, just finished bringing the rest of the food back here.  We've got a pretty good supply of water in case things really go badly.  Storm seems to still be following the forecast track.  But, we're about as prepared as one can be under these circumstances.

The kids are still jumping around even though it is almost 11:30 p.m.  Probably has something to do with the Barq's root beer they drank at 10 p.m.  They are watching Babar the Elephant on DVD right now.  Hopefully, they'll burn out here shortly and go to sleep.

Things are supposed to slowly deteriorate after midnight according to the weather-d00d at WLOX TV.  Hoping to catch a little shut-eye in a little while, after I finish covering up the gear in my studio.  I'll most likely wake up between 3 and 4 a.m. to see how things are going outside.  Hard to sleep when there is a big-ass hurricane blowing at you.  More powerful than Camille... whew!

Been a long day.  In case you haven't noticed, I am updating the animated infra-red picture further above as updates become available.  Fascinating, these storms... just wish we weren't on the receiving end of it.

Thankfully, my web site isn't affected by Hurricane Katrina because it lives on a server somewhere in California.  So, Screw You, Katrina.  Russian Bitch!

I'll post again later tonight if I can.

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