The Saturday morning forecast track remains bleak.[
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/...]
Ernesto is poised to enter the warm waters of the Gulf as a category 2 hurricane by Tuesday. More on the flip.
That track now has the storm cutting south and west of New Orleans, exposing either the city or the oil and gas infrastructure that snakes out from the lower parishes of Louisiana to the strongest part of any hurricane, the northeastern edge.
The oil markets are already responding predictably,
with an ugly price spike yesterday that will hit likely us in the pumps this weekend
[http://www.philly.com/...]
Meanwhile, in New Orleans itself, the testing on the temporary pumps installed by the Corps of Engineers is
showing mixed results at best. [http://www.nola.com/...]
With its storm drains clogged and the performance of the pumps a question mark, heavy rains would be enough to bring new flooding to the city-- no storm surge or failed levees needed.
One more thing-- In other threads and diaries, I'm already detecting a note of schadenfreude over the political price that will undoubtedly be paid if Ernesto does indeed make landfall in the US as a major 'cane. It's time for a gut check- there are people's lives and livelihoods at stake here. Rather than hoping Ernesto hits, pray it misses.