Sorry for the lack of updates. I had a headache earlier and needed to rest. That turned into a three-hour nap.

Luckily (or unluckily, for New Orleanians), not much changed while I was asleep. Katrina is still at 115 mph; she’s still in a concentric eyewall cycle, but seems to certain to strengthen once it’s over; and the forecast track still looks like a worst-case, potential doomsday scenario for New Orleans. Katrina’s sustained winds are still expected to reach 145 mph at landfall, with gusts to 180 mph, and it is still possibile that she’ll get even stronger than that, becoming just the fourth Category Five hurricane in recorded history to make landfall on the United States mainland.

Hurricane Watches, as expected, have been extended eastward to the Alabama/Florida border, but that doesn’t indicate an rightward lurch in the track; the NHC simply put the Louisiana warnings up a few hours early, to give New Orleans and vicinity more time to prepare. The track has actually edged ever-so-slightly to the left, but the below-sea-level city of New Orleans is still directly in the crosshairs.

For some reason that I can’t even begin to comprehend, the evacuation order for New Orleans is only “voluntary” at this time. The mayor says he might issue mandatory evacuations tomorrow morning, depending on what the forecast says. What is he waiting for??? The forecast calls for a DIRECT HIT! This is the story we’ve been fearing for decades! And if he waits until 24 hours before landfall to order people to leave, it may very well be too late! People getting stuck on the highways while a Category Five hurricane makes landfall is one of the most horrifying scenarios imaginable!!!