Hurricane Gustav

Tropical Storm Gustav became Hurricane Gustav on August 26, 2008. Gustav, the third hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, started as a Category 1 storm, making landfall on August 26, close to the capital Port-au-Prince.¹² The storm is held responsible for 23 deaths in Haiti.³

Gustav eventually strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, but on September 1 the storm was downgraded to Category 2 shortly before making landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana, at 10:30 a.m. EST.⁴ The storm has since passed by the city of New Orleans without doing nearly the level of damage done by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm then weakened into a tropical depression, but still produced rain across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma.²

Fast Facts

September 2: Weakened to a tropical depression, winds 35 mphh²

Made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on September 1

Tropical Storm Gustav formed in the Caribbean on August 25, 2008¹

Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Haiti around 1 P.M. EST on August 26, 2008¹

23 people died in Haiti from the storm³

August 29 is the three-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast

The Mahalo Top 7

National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Gustav | Public Advisory
FEMA Official Site: Hurricane Gustav Information
NPR: New Orleans, Gulf Coast Assess Gustav Damage (September 2, 2008)
CNN: Water Clears Levees As Gustav Makes Louisiana Landfall (September 1, 2008)
AccuWeather.com: Weakening Gustav Still a Threat (September 1, 2008)
CNN: Holdouts stay on as Gustav approaches (September 1, 2008)
Stormpulse.com: Hurricane Gustav Projected Path