We have been planning a trip to N.O. for this Thursday evening...smack dab when the hurricane should be arriving. We are going to take our lead from the airlines and see if our flight is cancelled. Are any other travelers planning a trip to the Gulf coast this weekend, or have any other travelers been in this boat? We have to cancel our hotel by tomorrow (Wednesday) in order to not be charged for a night. Should we just cancel now and be done with it, or if the airline is flying, should we go and brave the storm?

The storm will probably have already moved through by Thurs evening!!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml

This website has the latest predictions and advisories, so you can make a more informed choice. It would be worth a call to the hotel as well.

The site above estimates landfall Wed-Thur. I'm no wimp, but as a former Gulf Coast resident, I'd probably cancel at this point; even if N.O. doesn't get a direct hit, there will be a lot of rain and flooding due to the size of the storm.

Go to NOLA.com and you can read the updates from the Times-Picayune. As the previous poster said, the storm will dump lots of rain for days before and after landfall. I like a shower now and then when we visit but days of continuous wind and rain would ruin it. Good luck.

I used to live in Pensacola, FL for a short time on the gulf coast. I'm a weather geek and am originally from the midwest. I used to get a thrill watching tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. I thought in '98 when Hurricane Gorge (sp) hit the gulf coast that it would be a huge thrill. How wrong I was! Half of our condo complex was hit by a water spout and leveled. We were without power for days and fortunately were relocating to Colorado a week later. It was awful trying to pack in the dark with pet-sized roaches literally coming out of the woodwork. RESCHEDULE. Don't mess with a storm like that if you don't absoulutely have to.

Hi,I'm going to New Orleans this Saturday (the 28th).I'm connecting in
Detroit in the a.m.Will we be able to get into New Orleans or will our flight out of Detroit be cancelled? Any comments? Will the flight be able to land Saturday afternoon? Thanks,Debbie

Call the airline and the hotel before you do anything and find out what their emergency plans are. If it does land, the airline will cancel the flight and the hotel will shut down therefore you will not be out any money. If you cancel on your own, you will probably lose money.

Thank you all for your advice! We're going to make a decision by tomorrow. I have no desire to be flooded out of my hotel!

Manchester, if a hurricane hits, they will not let you in NO. The airlines will cancel flights and the hotels will close as this is law. Call the hotel and airlines and find out what their MO is.

We've just returned from a couple of back to back trips, one of which I was mildly panicked over Isidore, which, as we left, looked as if it'd come right up the Fl Gulf Coast. I was tracking it at http://www.weatherunderground.com/tropical/, while we were gone, which seemed to be more reliable than The Weather Channel. Fortunately for us, it took a left turn after Cuba and we could breath easily while we were away.

The computer models (which you should look at for Isidore at weatherunderground) don't look good for NO Thursday. Virtually all of them show it heading right to that area, and as it gets closer, the less divergence there is.

That said, we lived in NO at one point with my husband working at the Royal Orleans and Royal Sonesta in the 70's. I can't tell you the number of hurricanes we prepared for as they headed that way, but each turned at the last moment. Good thing, as the city is below sea level. The worst case scenario would be for a storm to head in via the MS coast, coming in over Lake Pontchartrain. Theory was that the lake would be pushed over onto the city. This doen't look like the path for Isidore, but Thursday will be messy at best if the models hold true.

I just heard that many schools in New Orleans are closed through Thursday and even Loyola College has closed until Monday! I lived in New Orleans for 3 years, and let me tell you, it is NOT a place to be during heavy rains. The low sea level and antiquated storm drains make for excssively flooded streets. If you cancel, I would recommend it.

Just read that they are planning on mandatory evacuations if the hurricane is really going to NO. The airlines will cancel flights in, as they don't want planes to be damaged and if as predicted 10 - 20 inches of rain arrive the entire city will be soggy to say the least.

Figure another location away from the storm if this is your vacation, and ask the airlines to rebook. For a major storm, they will probably be willing to help.

tweedy

Mandatory evacuations are only in the extreme lower coastal areas. In the city, we're just watching with one eye and going about business.

I do get three days off of school, though, so it's not all bad!

The storm is now not even projected to become a hurricane. Come on down! Check with the airline first, though, because wind may cause a few delays and cancellations!

Hurricane Keith was a weak tropical storm too when we left for Belize in Sept 2000. Less than two days later it was a Category 4 storm sitting right on top of us. Let's just say we were lucky that we chose a hotel made of concrete - we lost the roof anyway. Don't mess with a tropical storm if it's headed your way. It can strengthen very rapidly and you could find yourself in an unfamiliar area with no services (like CLEAN WATER!) or a way to get out. Don't think the airline will put you on the next flight out if you show up and can't go anywhere. Everyone else will be trying to get out too. And emergency services will be strapped trying to take care of the people who live there and have lost their homes or worse - don't strain them even further by being a stupid tourist who doesn't heed the warning. We learned that the hard way. Yes you might kick yourself if the storm ends up being minor, but why chance it?

One more thing - if you do go - bring a flashlight and a small battery operated radio. Nothing worse than being forced to hunker down in a dark hotel room with no information or lights. Also make sure you pick up some bottled water and food to keep in your room just in case, because in an emergency you can't expect people to share.

Earth to Katie! Earth to Katie!

You went to Belize 2 days before any hurricane? Tracking sites are plentiful and Isidore isn't predicted to strengthen in the 1 day left before landfall.

Here's the word: "Isidore has been over water for about 20 hours and has not shown any signs of redeveloping an inner core. This was confirmed by the
latest information from a NOAA reconnaissance plane which indicates
that the minimum pressure has increased to 990 mb with a center
devoid of deep convection. Most of the shower activity is within a
curved convective band to the east of the center. In fact...the
cloud pattern on satellite does not look like a tropical cyclone.
Initial intensity remains at 50 knots. Although the ocean is warm
and the shear is low...due to the lack of inner core...only a slight
strenghtening is indicated. The official forecast calls for 60 knots
at landfall but due to uncertanties in the intensity forecast...the
Hurricane Watch is maintained at this time."

We're scheduled to leave Friday, and as long as my flight is going, I'll be on it! We've been planning and looking forward to this weekend for months. I figure I can just spend a little more time in some good restaurants!

We didn't leave for Belize with a hurricane headed that way. Keith was barely a tropical storm off the coast of Venezuela and forecast to go north and not strengthen. He turned northwest instead and intensified more rapidly than anyone predicted. No one in Belize was prepared - and yes, it's a third world country but they have cable TV IN ENGLISH and not a single tourist was evacuated from the island we were on before the storm hit - it happened that fast.

My point is that tropical weather is unpredictable and you can't rely on weather forecasters or computer models. They are more than often WRONG. We relied on the forecasts, and the airlines (who were flying people into Belize until less than 24 hours before the storm hit) and got caught in a Category 4 hurricane when all were were told to expect was a bit of rain and maybe a small storm surge.