Wednesday, August 29 2012 9:17 AM EDT2012-08-29 13:17:55 GMT
Hurricane Isaac will hit Louisiana head-on Tuesday. Residents fortified their properties to withstand the storm, and buckled down as the rain and wind blew in.
Hurricane Isaac will hit Louisiana head-on Tuesday. Residents fortified their properties to withstand the storm, and buckled down as the rain and wind blew in.
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
On the eve of the 7th anniversary of Katrina, Hurricane Isaac made an initial landfall on a tiny spit of land in far southeastern Louisiana at 6:45 PM CDT Tuesday evening.
Winds are at 80 mph and the central pressure has dropped to 968mb. The hurricane is now expected to skirt the Louisiana coast and slowly comes ashore again later tonight as it heads toward New Orleans.
For a real-time, interactive look at Hurricane Isaac: MyFOXHurricane.com
Isaac will also slow down and could produce between 10" and 14" of heavy rain across Louisiana throughout the day Wednesday. Winds are already toppling trees and more than 100,000 homes are without power. There is concern about tornadoes spinning off the outer storm bands of the northeast quadrant of the storm. Water has risen to the tops of several levees south of New Orleans and the storm surge has been reported at 8' so far with a surge of 12' possible.
Especially vulnerable will be the beach areas near New Orleans and east into Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. By Friday, Saturday and Sunday the remnants of Isaac will curve north into the Midwest and Ohio Valley. This could bring 4-6" of much needed rain to the drought stricken areas of central and southern Illinois and Indiana where special weather statements regarding heavy rain have already been issued from Peoria, Illinois and southward.
Here in Chicago we will be on the northern edge of the remnants and could see periods of rain or storms on both Saturday and Sunday. Ironically Isaac's track is similar to both hurricanes Katrina and Andrew pictured below. Both of those storms were August hurricanes.
On August 24th, 1992 Andrew made its famous landfall at Homestead, Florida, but it also made landfall two days later on the 26th in Louisiana.
On August 25th, 2005 Katrina made its first landfall in Florida, then crossed into the Gulf of Mexico and quickly intensified to a Category 5 storm in just 9 hours. Katrina made it second and infamous landfall in Louisiana as a strong Category 3 storm on August 29th. "
Isaac is not expected to cause the devastation seen with either of those two storms, but it is considered a dangerous storm capable of producing wind and water damage across the area.
Follow the latest on "Isaac" here at Myfoxchicago.com or on Twitter @TammieSouza or on Facebook: foxchicagoweather
Tuesday, January 22 2013 2:26 PM EST2013-01-22 19:26:59 GMT
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Friday, January 18 2013 11:18 PM EST2013-01-19 04:18:05 GMT
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Friday, January 18 2013 3:41 PM EST2013-01-18 20:41:23 GMT
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief.
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief thanks to recent soaking rains stretching from the south through the southeast and the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states.
Monday, December 3 2012 7:18 PM EST2012-12-04 00:18:16 GMT
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
