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Just as forecast, Tropical Storm Issac made hurricane status early Wednesday as it picked up warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. The massive storm system is moving at a very slow pace, dumping huge amounts of rain and causing flooding in rural Louisiana. Isaac has pushed water over a rural levee in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, flooding homes there. Most of the residents living in that part of the parish on the east bank of the mighty Mississippi had already evacuated so there are no reports thus far of any injuries or deaths. Parish officials are worried however that some people may be trapped but thus far don't know how many as there is no way of telling how many people evacuated when told to do so Tuesday. Hard hitting whipping winds and sheets of heavy rainfall pounded the deserted streets of New Orleans even though Isaac was still many miles away. Isaac came ashore Tuesday evening in the mouth of the Mississippi River, bringing with it sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. The storm is moving very slowly and at times seems to stall out completely, unleashing extreme amounts of rain totaling 20 inches in some areas. Isaac has only caused some minor flooding thus far in New Orleans and has toppled a few trees but already over120,000 people in the city are without power. In Biloxi, Mississippi, twelve inches of water covered some roadways along the Gulf, forcing their closure. The damage there so far is not too bad but considering that the storm is moving slowly and dumping very heavy rains, conditions could deteriorate rapidly over the next two days. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi are now without power thanks to Isaac including several hundred patients living in nursing homes. Memorial services which were scheduled in New Orleans today to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina have been put on hold because of the storm. Katrina left 1,800 people dead in Louisiana and Mississippi when it roared through the area seven years ago today. Doppler radar shows that Isaac has dumped six to eight inches of rain on New Orleans thus far with some isolated areas getting nine inches. More rain is expected to fall today and tomorrow. The National Weather Center is predicting rainfall totals for the city to be around a foot by the time the massive system passes through. The US Army Corps of Engineers reported at 11 am local time that the New Orleans levee protection systems were “working as expected”. As Isaac spins over New Orleans, some flooding is expected but how much, where and to what degree is anyone's guess. The storm is threatening dangerous storm surges and flooding from heavy rainfall amounts which are expected to last all day today and into the night as the immense storm crawls across Louisiana.
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