It reached Category 5 shortly after it reached Category 4; there is every reason to believe it will be a Category 3 when it hits. The good news was that--after it went through the loop current, it
did hit that patch of cold water I mentioned earlier. But it didn't seem to help that much because the hurricane had become so big by that time. We are now expecting very high winds here again--like we had three years ago--so we have no choice but to evacuate. We will be leaving very early in the morning.
Katrina wasn't that bad. We took the back roads, with two cats, to central Louisiana. This time we have to take four cats to Birmingham. But we have a lot more space this time. And at least I can watch the U.S. Open because there will be electricity!
Thank you, Terese, Anne and Tim.
Here is a photo album of our Katrina evacuation:
http://dianeandorvin2.shutterfly.com/8