Tropical Storm Gustav 2008

Tropical Storm Gustav

Hurricane Gustav (2008)

Hurricane Gustav is the seventh tropical cyclone and third hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on the morning of August 25, about 260 miles (415 km) southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and rapidly strengthened into a tropical storm that afternoon and into a hurricane early on August 26. Later that day it made landfall near the Haitian town of Jacmel. Seventeen deaths have been blamed on Gustav.

Current storm status

Tropical storm (1-min mean)
As of: 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) August 27
Location: 18.8°N 74.4°W ± 20 nm
About 140 mi (225 km) W of Port-au-Prince
About 90 mi (145 km) SE of Guantánamo
Winds: 50 knots | 60 mph | 95 km/h sustained (1-min mean)
gusting to 60 knots | 70 mph | 110 km/h
Pressure: 997 mbar (hPa) | 29.44 inHg
Movement: W at 4 kt | 5 mph | 7 km/h

Storm history

Track of Hurricane Gustav through 0000 UTC August 27At 1500 UTC on August 25, 2008, a tropical wave which had previously produced rain and squalls in the Lesser Antilles, developed well defined curved bands and briefly exhibited an upper-level eye feature. The National Hurricane Center designated it Tropical Depression Seven and dispatched a hurricane hunter aircraft to further investigate the system. At the time the system had a well-defined outflow in all but the southeast quadrant, and data from the hurricane hunter aircraft confirmed that the tropical depression had strengthened into a tropical storm, which was promptly designated Tropical Storm Gustav. A brief period of disorganization proved to be temporary as a well-defined eyewall formed that same night. In the early hours of August 26, as the storm approached Haiti's southwestern peninsula, another hurricane hunter aircraft confirmed what forecasters already suspected—that Gustav had strengthened into a hurricane with winds topping 80 mph (130 km/h). Before reaching Haiti its satellite presentation continued to improve, a central dense overcast became more prominent, and the minimum central pressure fell.

Hurricane Gustav re-gained a pronounced eye as it made landfall on Haiti, near the town of Jacmel. As the hurricane moved over Haiti's mountainous terrain its circulation was disrupted and it lost a little strength. Although downgraded to a tropical storm, the system still had a pronounced eye in its mid- and upper-level structures. Its outflow improved throughout the night of August 26 and the system was not very disrupted when it moved back over water into the Gulf of Gonâve.


Preparations

Caribbean

Immediately upon the storm's designation as a tropical depression it was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm and strike the island of Hispanola. Tropical storm warnings were issued from the coast of the Dominican Republic south of Santo Domingo to the Haitian coast south of Port-au-Prince. Furthermore, a tropical storm watch was issued for the Haitian coast, north of Port-au-Prince to the northern border with the Dominican Republic. Hours later, when Gustav was upgraded to a tropical storm, the tropical storm warning was upgraded to a hurricane warning and the tropical storm watch was upgraded to a hurricane watch.

On August 25, Carnival Cruise Lines diverted one of its ships from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Mexico in order to avoid the storm.Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPDEM) readied response systems in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav affecting the island.

In Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, the government ordered emergency shelters to prepare. The country, which occupies the western half of the island of Hispaniola, is particularly vulnerable to floods and landslides as rainfall runs off its largely deforested mountains. The government issued a red alert and advised the population to take precautions, but few Haitians took heed. Fair weather led many to doubt whether a hurricane was even approaching. American Airlines canceled all of its flights into and out of Port-au-Prince on August 26, stranding travelers hoping to escape the storm.


United States

On the morning on August 26, with Gustav still over Haiti, Louisiana emergency preparedness officials met several times to discuss predictions that Gustav would reach the state as a major hurricane in 3–5 days. These officials finalized evacuation plans, which proposed assisted evacuations as early as August 29, contraflow lanes on all major highways, and 700 buses to help move evacuees. For those evacuees in need of shelter, the state government secured tens of thousands of shelter beds. Unwilling to repeat the mistake of Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center will not be used as emergency shelters.

Impact

Although the storm was still in its formative stages on August 26, fears that Hurricane Gustav might eventually disrupt oil production in the Gulf of Mexico caused oil prices to rise.On August 27U.S. oil and natural-gas companies began evacuating personnel from their oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico amid continued forecasts that Gustav would strengthen and move into the gulf.

Operationally, Gustav went from a tropical depression to a hurricane in 14 hours, tying Hurricane Humberto's record of 14 hours, although this may be disputed in post-season analysis.

Gustav made landfall in Haiti at approximately 1 p.m. EDT, about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city of Jacmel.[26] While inland, Gustav's rains triggered a landslide in the community of Benet which killed one person. Two more were killed in southwestern Haiti when their house collapsed. Another two deaths were blamed on an explosion inside a house, thought to be related to Hurricane Gustav. The southern town of Jacmel, where the hurricane made landfall, was bisected by floodwaters. In total, nine deaths have been blamed on the storm in Haiti.

In the Dominican Republic, a landslide in a rural area killed eight people.


Current storm information

Hurricane Warning
Hurricane conditions
expected within 24 hours.
Hurricane Watch
Hurricane conditions
possible within 36 hours.
Tropical Storm Warning
Tropical storm conditions expected within 24 hours.
Tropical Storm Watch
Tropical storm conditions possible within 36 hours.
As of 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) August 27, Tropical Storm Gustav is located within 20 nautical miles of 18.8°N 74.4°W, about 140 mi (225 km) west of Port-au-Prince and about 90 mi (145 km) south-southeast of Guantánamo. Maximum sustained winds are 50 knots (60 mph, 95 km/h), with stronger gusts. Minimum central pressure is 997 mbar (hPa; 29.44 InHg), and the system is moving west at 4 kt (5 mph, 7 km/h).

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 50 mi (85 km) from the center of Gustav.

Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) are expected over Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and eastern Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts to 25 inches (625 mm) possible.

Forecast: On August 27, Gustav was predicted to travel generally WNW between Cuba and Jamaica, leaving the west end of Cuba on August 30, and making landfall in the U.S. on Labor Day Monday or Tuesday as at least a hurricane.


Watches and warnings

As of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) August 27:

A hurricane warning is in effect for:
The Cuban provinces of Granma, Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba
A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
The southern and western coast of Haiti from the southern border with Dominican Republic to Môle Saint-Nicolas in northwest Haiti
Jamaica
A hurricane watch is in effect for:
The Cuban provinces of Holguín and Las Tunas
Jamaica
The Cayman Islands


Tags: tropical storm gustav,tropical storm gustav 2008,tropical storm gustav 2004

Source: wikipedia.org