The buoy south of Pensacola has started to report 30' wave heights.

Unfortunately the buoy south of Dauphin Island, which you'd really like to see, doesn't seem to be reporting.

Wow this storm is still intensifying...I can't get a handle on what it will be doing in the hours just before landfall when it has had all day over the Gulf.

NHC said the only thing to slow it down was cooler water temps. Yesterday though showed warmer temps right along the shore (I used Oceanweather because it is easy to read with all the different shades of orange). That showed yesterday a band of warmer temps above and around the barrier islands and to the west of the hurricane S of LA. Maybe that isn't a good SST map to go by?

http://www.oceanweather.com/data/Gulf-of-Mexico/sst.html

I don't wish this on anyone, but I'm relieved this morning to see the Nward movement because otherwise MS coastline would be in trouble. Still awful that someone has to get hit with this storm.

Waiting to see the first daylight sat view...looks like very white cloud tops around the eye, the buzzsaw signature, very impressive eye.