Tropical Storm Isaac is picking up steam and is expected to become a hurricane sometime Tuesday and certainly by the time it starts dumping rain on the northern Gulf Coast.
The center of the storm that was about 80 miles from the mouth of Mississippi River Tuesday morning is likely to pass over southeastern Louisiana by late in the day or on Wednesday - the seventh anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina. It could become the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast since Ike in 2008.
WHERE WILL IT HIT?
As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted Isaac would reach at least Category 1 strength before making landfall over southeastern Louisiana. Winds for Category 1 would be at least 75 mph and can be as high as 95 mph.
The track could still veer farther west, or to the east in Mississippi. Regardless of where it hits, Isaac's reach is large and it will dump heavy rain as far east as Florida.
DAMAGE
While people across the coast were boarding up their homes to prepare for winds that were at 70 mph Tuesday morning, the even bigger fear is the potential for flooding. Isaac could push storm surge as high as 12 feet into parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, and 1 to 3 feet high as far away as Florida's west coast.
Isaac already left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean, most of it blamed on flooding that killed 24 people.
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
Isaac veered well west of the Republican National Convention site in Tampa, but it was soggy over the weekend in the bayside city. The GOP pushed back the start of speeches a day to Tuesday and protesters' ranks have been small, in part because of the soaking brought on by Isaac and in part because of the huge police presence in the city.
The coming storm has also altered some Republican governors' plans to attend. Florida Gov. Rick Scott canceled a speaking engagement, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley canceled their trips to Tampa.
EVACUATIONS
Officials in Louisiana's St. Charles Parish near New Orleans and Terrebonne Parish that includes Houma closer to the Gulf have told about 73,000 residents total to leave ahead of the storm. Some coastal residents in Alabama have also been told to evacuate. However, officials haven't ordered the kind of evacuations that have in the past clogged interstates, with both sides of the highway heading one direction. In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said evacuations would not be ordered and told residents to prepare carefully and ride it out.
