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Hurricane Katrina is an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Maximum sustained winds have now been greatly increased to 175 mph. Katrina continues not only grow stronger, but it continues to grow larger. Hurricane-force winds extend 90 miles from the center on the eastern side of Katrina, 75 miles to the northwest and 50 miles to the southwest. The center of Katrina was 225 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River at 10am CDT, but the hurricane force winds are only 135 miles from the coast.

Everyone along the northern Gulf of Mexico needs to take this hurricane very seriously and put action plans into play now. Hurricane warnings have now been hoisted from Morgan City, La., to the Florida-Alabama border. This includes the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch have been issued from the Alabama-Florida border eastward to Destin, Florida and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City, Louisiana.

Katrina is forecast to turn to the northwest later this morning, then toward the north tonight. Well ahead of the center there will be very high surf crashing ashore in the northern Gulf starting Sunday night. You'll need to use extreme caution or just not go in the water at all along all of the northern Gulf beaches from Louisiana to western Florida due to this increased surf. Extreme damaging winds, high, life threatening storm surge, and deadly flooding rains with possible tornadoes are expected at landfall.

Effects from Katrina will not be confined to coastal areas. Once Hurricane Katrina makes landfall, it will progress inland Monday into Tuesday with a trail of flooding rains and damaging winds across Mississippi and Alabama and then into Tennessee. Torrential, flooding rainfall is possible with the remnants of Katrina well inland, possibly into the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and the Northeast later this week.

Elsewhere, there are two areas of low pressure in the central Atlantic. One low pressure is a system that has been monitored for several days now. It is centered about 800 miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands. The strong area of low pressure has dealt with a harsh environment ever since its existence. Atmospheric conditions have not improved over the last 12 hours, so development with this system would be slow.

A second area of low pressure is located several hundred miles southeast of the aforementioned low. This system continues to show signs of organization and could become the next tropical depression later today. It could approach the Lesser Antilles in the next 3 to 4 days.

Tropical Depression Irwin continues to weaken in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Top winds are down to 30 mph and it may dissipate in the next 24 hours.

In the northwest Pacific Talim has become a typhoon and is forecast to grow to a 120 mph typhoon before moving across Taiwan and into mainland China in the next 3 to 4 days.

The Joy of the Lord is your Strength

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Originally posted by Shelley:
Beautiful prayers and sentiments everyone. Craig, I hate to say this, but in the most loving way I can say it...I think you're a little over the top with some of your comments. I've been watching the news all morning and by the time Katrina hit landfall, it had been downgraded to a category 3. I will guarantee you that New Orleans will still be recognizable. We need to promote the hope and goodwill of our heavenly Father. Not the voice of gloom and despair...that will serve no positive purpose. What if someone came on here and heard your words...they would be unbelievably terrified. It is suredly a bad storm, but God will have his saving grace and protection in place...rest assured. Peace and love to you and everyone.