Churning through the Caribbean and heaving the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Isaac made landfall over southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night with sustained winds of 80 mph and torrential rains. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm's center moved over land in Plaquemines Parish at 6:45 p.m.
Tuesday as a tropical storm, Isaac emerged as a hurricane around noon and became stronger in subsequent hours. By 4 p.m. CT, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was centered 30 miles south-southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 105 miles south-southeast of New Orleans, the National Hurricane Center said.
IR CONUS National Hurricane Center, NOAA
Isaac already prompted the closing of three airports in New Orleans; Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama - by Tuesday afternoon and the cancellation of around 1,500 flights system wide, according to Flight Aware and airport officials. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it has closed major ports along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to its mouth because of the storm.
Amtrak has suspended its train service to and from New Orleans on Tuesday and Wednesday because of Isaac. Residents of Plaquemines Parish, located along the Gulf, are subject to a "dusk-to-dawn curfew" because of Isaac, parish officials said. -Staff Report