Is Isaac Coming to Town?

As of 11:00 AM this morning, Tropical Storm Isaac has maximum sustained winds at 40 mph and a minimum pressure of 987 mb. As it continues to move ever so slowly (9 mph) to the northwest it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression this evening. As everyone knows by the haunting images and stories coming out of the Gulf States, this has been a devastating storm. The tremendous flooding due to the crawling-speed of Isaac has been unreal. Some places in Louisiana have seen over 20 inches of rain since Isaac made landfall on Tuesday. Winds gusted to 113 mph at Plaquemines Parish and to 102 mph at Miss Canyon Oil Rig on Tuesday. Storm surge, water from the Gulf, exceeded 6 feet in Lake Pontchartrain and over 9 feet at Shell Beach, LA. So far, there have been 11 unconfirmed tornado reports with more warnings in effect this morning.

In the next few hours Isaac should be a tropical depression with sustained wind speeds less than 38 mph. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the east. Now central and western Oklahoma only have a slim chance of getting rain from the remnants of Isaac. Eastern Oklahoma, say Tulsa down to Durant, still have great chances for some much needed heavy rain. Some areas, especially southeastern Oklahoma, could pick up several inches thru Saturday afternoon. There is still some data that suggests a more westward track, so the forecast is still not rock solid. However, in order for the OKC metro and central OK to see long lasting heavy rain, the center of the TD would need to move west of OKC, and that looks very unlikely at this time. One thing we will all get out of the leftovers of Isaac will be gusty winds. The western 2/3 of the state will see winds will pick up this afternoon out of the northeast at 10 to 20 mph, and Friday winds will be gusting around 30 mph out of the northeast. This will make for very choppy waters on the area lakes during this busy holiday weekend.

After this low pressure moves on out Saturday, we'll heat right back up for the holiday weekend. Highs will top out near 100 on Labor Day. Our next weather maker looks to arrive later in the workweek next week, so let's all cross our fingers that this next system won't dodge us as well.