It's now Hurricane Isaac as New Orleans hunkers down [View all]
Source: MSNBC
Updated at 12:20 p.m. ET: Isaac finally reached hurricane strength on Tuesday, closing in on the Louisiana-Mississippi coast as a slow-moving giant of a system expected to make landfall Tuesday night or early Wednesday.
At 12:20 p.m. ET, Isaac had 75 mph sustained winds, a mile above the speed needed for a Category 1 hurricane.
National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said "rain bands will become more frequent and more potent" along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast as the day goes on.
Isaac is very wide as storms go, with tropical storm-force winds stretching 205 miles from its center.
Its size and slow motion, Knabb said, will make for a large storm surge, especially in southeast Louisiana where surges up to 12 feet are predicted.
Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/28/13521127-its-now-hurricane-isaac-as-new-orleans-hunkers-down?lite
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