9:00 am August 29, 2005: New Orleans Local Weather Statement: Expect Massive Flooding

The National Weather Service’s Local Weather Statement for New Orleans advises that the eye of Hurricane Katrina is in eastern St. Bernard and Orleans Parishes, packing sustained winds near 135 mph, with higher gusts. A storm surge of 10 to 12 feet will be occurring in the southwest part of Lake Pontchartrain affecting the east banks of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and Livingston parishes. “Severe storm surge flooding is expected develop through the remainder of the morning… with highest values along the Louisiana coast east of the Mississippi River…Mississippi coast…and along the shore line of Lake Pontchartrain and Maurepas.” [National Weather Service (Birmingham), 8/29/2005; Wall Street Journal, 9/12/2005]