Pet Forum

The latest storm to head towards the Gulf Of Mexico is hurricane Gustav. Just a tropical storm Gustav hours ago, hurricane Gustav is rapidly approaching Haiti on its way to the Gulf.

Where will hurricane Gustav hit? Where will it make landfall? No one can say for sure what the hurricane Gustav projected path is at this point, as far as the US is concerned, but it will certainly hit Haiti hard. Once the storm enters the Gulf, it will gain speed rapidly.

Gustav's sustained winds strengthened to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour, the U.S. National hurricane Center said in an advisory just before 8 a.m. Miami time. The system, located 75 miles south-southeast of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, was heading northwest at 9 mph.

Gustav will probably intensify into a Category 2 hurricane later today with winds of at least 96 mph and may develop into a Category 3 or 4 by the end of the week, Wilhelm said. Hurricanes are rated on the 5-step scale with Categories 3 or higher deemed ``major'' storms, with winds of 111 mph and higher.

Forecasts from the hurricane Center show Gustav striking Haiti later today and then following a track between Jamaica in the south and Cuba to the north. Wilhelm said that path will give the hurricane access to the warm waters of the Caribbean and let it gather strength. Sometime between Aug. 30 and 31, the hurricane will likely be between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico heading for the Gulf.

Oil prices swung rapidly higher Tuesday as hurricane Gustav threatened major oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico. After falling close to $112 per barrel in overnight trading, light, sweet crude for October delivery spiked $2.33 to $117.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a $5 swing. Already adding support to oil prices was Russia's recognition of independence for two breakaway provinces in Georgia, which is likely to enflame tensions with the west. In London, October Brent crude rose 1 cent to $114.51 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

As soon as we hear more information about Gustav (such as a damage report, projected path, direction, wind strength, etc.) we will pass it on. Buckle down everyone!

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Well I got hit with a few dozen phone calls after posting this about the Gustav Hurricane. As most of my family lives along the Gulf Coast, they are understandably freaking out about this new hurricane that's heading our way. So, here are all of the questions that they are asking, along with the answers I have found so far.

Is hurricane Gustav a serious storm? Yes! This latest Caribbean storm is already packing winds of 90 mph, and it hasn't even hit Haiti yet!

What category is hurricane Gustav? Right now Gustav is a category 1 hurricane, but it will grow once it hits the warm waters in the Gulf.

Where is hurricane Gustav going? Where is the Gustav storm heading to? Right now it is about to hit Hait. Then it will travel directly into the Gulf Of Mexico (also known as hurricane Alley). Right now nobody really knows where it is going to land, but we are looking at a possible landfall along the Louisiana coast.

How strong will Gustav be when it hits the US? Nobody knows yet, but it is predicted to be a category 3 or 4 hurricane once it lands on the US.

When will hurricane Gustav strike the US? This is a tough one. We really don't know what is going to happen to the storm after it enters the Gulf. Our best guess at this point is that Gustav will strike the US in about 3 or 4 days.

What's your hurricane Gustav prediction? Making predictions is just a wild guess, but my prediction for where Gustav is going to land is right on top of New Orleans. I also predict that this grows into a category 5 storm with top winds of 160 mph.

How much damage will Gustav cause? Just taking a wild guess, Gustav will likely cause damages in the $2 billion range in the US. Expect our Gulf oil interests to get hit hard.

Be prepared everyone! All of you along the Gulf Coast should be checking your hurricane survival kit now. Make sure you have plenty of water, food, candles, and medical supplies. gas up the cars and fill up a few extra gas cans. Know you hurricane evacuation route now!

Hang tight all!

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I just got an update that hurricane Gustave has hit Haiti. We now know the projected path of hurricane Gustav, at least to a degree. Gustav is heading directly into the warm Gulf. Here is a bit on the Haiti hit by Gustav story, along with a hurricane Gustav update:

Hurricane Gustav has hit Haiti, causing people in Port Au Prince to attempt to leave the capital city. American Airlines has canceled most of their flights from the city, stranding many tourists who were seeking to get out of town before the worst of the hurricane hit. The currently projected path of hurricane Gustav shows the storm gaining speed before hitting the island of Cuba. The storm is then expected to gather even more speed, becoming a Category 3 hurricane when it hits the Gulf later this week.

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