12:37pm

Looks like I had a good and ugly hard drive crash, and it dropped my main computer. I tried to stay on during power fluctuations, and I was just a dummy. I’m already dealing with it. We’re ok, and we’re watching the news just like you. There was a lot of wind and rain. New Orleans got hammered pretty good, looked like, and we’ll see how we are in the next few hours.

8:08

Gustav downgraded to a category 2, and it’s made official landfall. Waiting for the confirmation on the exact place. Just had some pretty tough gusts here, too. Further, St. John avenue in Biloxi is underwater, according to wlox.

7:58am

Consistently blowing at 30mph, gusts up to 55+ – now comes with free driving rain!

6:52am

The beach areas are being flooded fairly heavily at this point – up at my house, there’s some fairly heavy gusts to be seen, including broken and falling tree limbs. Winds are west/northwest, but still surprisingly light rain, considering. Sorry it’s been a bit – might take a shower real quick here, in case we lose power.

6:25am

Wind is picking up _quite_ a bit. 50+ mph gusts.

6:15am

Power outages in Pascagoula, south of Hwy. 90, winds steadily increasing. Gustav is 85mi S. of NO. Starting to ramp up here.

5:49am

Just to update about the tornado touchdown, MS power says that there are 62 customers without power in Gulfport, 40 in Moss point, 22 in Lucedale – no reported injuries or death. Tornado was reported by a police officer. Gustav beginning to move into LA in earnest, feeder bands are moving strongly into S. Mississippi.

5:22am

Confirmed tornado touchdown in NE. Gulfport, west of the woolmarket area. Moving west at 70mph. Tornado warning in effect for Hancock county area as well. Should be near Stennis already!

5:10am

Saw a news story via google, thought I’d link it. MUCH gustier now, raining much harder. Reporters are getting turned back at the beach for the most part now. Looking for Jim Cantore!

4:55am

Feeder bands are coming in now. NOLA is getting them already. Here she comes 😀

4:40am

Winds are picking up now – 15 mph steady, 35mph gusts. I can see the cloud cover moving rather swiftly from east to west, and the rain is picking up slightly, too. Watched some footage of the surge coming in down by Long Beach, and approaching Highway 90. Just saw a report that winds are at 117 mph in Venice, LA. I’ll keep looking for updates.

4:15am

Track remains steady, and north-west. Starting to pick up here, and the outer bands are hitting the MS coast right now. More updates when I see a bit more besides the track update and recent radar.

3:25am

I’m hanging out still, not much of a change in our local situation, but it’s getting closer. I’ve started an IRC chat channel in the meantime – #Gustav, on irc.starlink-irc.org. Feel free to join directly, if you’re IRC-savvy, or use the webchat. Also, I’m “razorskissnd” on both aim and yahoo. We’re getting an update in about 40 minutes, so we’ll see a bit more, then. New Orleans is starting to feel those feeders, it looks like. If I find something from that area, I’ll try and post it. I’m watching the live feed of wlox’s hurricane coverage as I multitask – I highly recommend it, as they did an excellent job during Katrina.

Seeya in a bit.

2:30am

Calm before the storm. Just a light drizzle, 15-20 mph winds, looking at about an hour and a half until the primary feeder band hits the shoreline. Add about a half-hour for me, as I’m 8 miles in, and it’s headed in about 15mph. Currently projected as a Cat3, 120 mph. It seems to be still on track to hit around Houma or Morgan City, but may hit closer to New Orleans. It’s still anyone’s game right now – the sudden turns are usually around this time, but we won’t get a current track until 4am or so.

We’ll be watching closely over the next couple hours, but we’re gonna get a good bit of rain and wind, whatever happens. Pray for Louisiana, and for the MS coast too! Don’t be afraid. God preserves! Updates in an hour or so, God willing. I’ll try to get them more frequent once things heat up, so to speak. I have a net-capable cellphone, and may try to get on IRC and/or instant messenger, providing cell service is still up.

Seeya next update, for more Gustav liveblogging.

See also: Fear no Storm!