I hope tonight you all will light a candle for the Coast.

Will do, Jen. Be safe.

Starting praying now.

Alan thinks you'll be fine, and he and Gustav are old friends.

Jennifer, my household will be praying for you tonight.

I will light a candle for you Jennifer, and for Sam and your families and everyone else along the coast. Evacuation looks like a wise choice, unfortunately:

"Southern Louisiana parishes, including St. Charles west of New Orleans, said they plan to order mandatory evacuations tomorrow."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=worldwide

Also see:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/cap...news-col-blogs

As of this moment, the storm is headed more toward Texas which, unfortunately, may not help Jennifer that much, but would prevent our having to evacuate. I hope we have more knowledge by tomorrow because if we're going to leave, we have to leave Sunday, and the preparation is quite difficult. I don't want to go through all the prep and then not leave, but I certainly don't want to leave, either.

Darlin' Jenny, the best hurricane coverage is always at Alan's www.seablogger.com. He prefers tropical storms to poetical ones these days, and here's his latest take. I don't think we need pray for you and yours just yet:

"In the visible satellite imagery, a small, clear eye has suddenly opened at the center of newly-designated hurricane Gustav. The storm is moving steadily toward the western tip of Cuba. Ahead of it looms the upper trough and shearing wind. Although the trough is visibly yielding, the hurricane is moving faster than the trough is backing off. Already the outer cirrus field of Gustav is distorting northward with the tug of southwesterly flow. That cloud field and initial rainbands are now crossing the Florida Straits. I can see the outer cirrus of Gustav from my Dania window at this time. Squalls are racing toward Biscayne Bay. Weather will become quite disturbed from here through the Keys tonight. But what will Gustav do?

So far I see no sign that the upper winds are changing Gustav’s course. Most models take it straight toward the Louisiana coast. A landfall SW of New Orleans would move the right front quadrant of the storm into the vulnerable area — the most dangerous scenario. But I do think FEMA is a day early talking about “15-30 foot storm surge.” This reeks of over-reaction to the agency’s pre-Katrina “leave it to the locals” attitude. Yes, Gustav has an eye, and it will strengthen fast now. The Cuba crossing will be brief, and will only disrupt the storm slightly. But those adverse winds over the Gulf, though they should weaken and retreat, may still prevent Gustav from arriving near Louisiana at category three strength. It is time to activate emergency plans, but not to run amok."

I'm thinking about y'all, Jennifer, Diane, and I think Gail White's there, too? Please keep us posted on what happens with you.

Candle lit.