Hurricane Isaac forms in Gulf, takes aim at Louisiana coastline

Isaac reached hurricane strength shortly after noon on Tuesday, with sustained winds in excess of 75 miles per hour.  The storm is moving northwest at 10 miles per hour and is expected to make landfall in Louisiana as a Category 1 storm in the early hours of Wednesday morning.  Isaac will become the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Ike in 2008. The National Hurricane Center has issued a Hurricane Warning for a large swath of coastline, stretching from Morgan City, La., to the Mississippi-Alabama border, an area that includes metropolitan New Orleans. President Obama spoke about Isaac from the White House on Tuesday morning. "We're dealing with a big storm," he said. "Now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously." New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu has not yet ordered mandatory evacuations. [Source]

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