Hurricane Gustav could have a long landfall

Our exclusive wind forecast from the FutureTrack computer model shows Hurricane Gustav making landfall in south central Louisiana around Noon on Monday. But that only marks the time when the center of the storm crosses the coast. Hurricane force winds will start blowing in southeast Louisiana before sunrise. And because the storm is coming in at an angle, folks there will be feeling the effects of Gustav all day Monday.

New Orleans will be on the dirty side of the circulation where the strongest winds will be blowing. Our FutureTrack indicates the winds will be gusting from the southeast in New Orleans for over 12 hours. That could push a lot of water from the Gulf into Lake Pontchartrain which could be a real test for the rebuilt levees.

A twelve foot storm surge will also swamp extreme southeast Louisiana cities like Grand Isle, Houma and Morgan City.  That area will also experience the strongest winds found in the eye-wall. Significant damage is likely.

While all that is happening to our east, the weather in the Houston-Galveston area will be the typical Labor Day weather: hot and humid with a few isolated late afternoon showers. The winds will be a little stronger than usual, but not strong enough to cause damage.

For folks headed to the beach, the waves in the Gulf of Mexico will increase 6-9 feet on Labor Day. Expect a high of 91° in Galveston on Monday.

We'll feel the effects of Gustav starting Tuesday when our rain chance goes up. The remnants of the storm will get stuck over east Texas giving us a high chance of rain for several days. The heaviest amounts will be north and east of Houston. But we could still get a few soakers in the city this week.

Get the latest coordinates, forecast track and satellite image on our website.

Sign up for text message alerts from ABC13 sent to your cellphone. We'll be issuing regular Gustav updates throughout the holiday weekend. (We do not charge for this service, but standard text message rates apply. See your cell phone company for details.)