Hanna looks to have nuzzled under some of the colder cloud tops overnight, and is arguably quite a bit stronger than the last two advisories. Recon should get in there within a few hours and should the LLC still be under the cold tops at that time, it seems reasonable to expect a jump in the advisory wind speed, and possibly a sizable jump, if it is not raised sooner than that.

Gustav is doing a number, with a raggedy, and at times open eye becoming somewhat visible on IR as well as radar again. Southwest Pass had a two-minute sustained of 79 knots at an elevated measuring station at 24 meters up. Peak gust of 102 knots. Taking the gust of 117MPH into consideration at an elevation of 24 meters, even looking at all of the recon data that has come in, I'm inclined to believe that peak sustained winds somewhere in the cyclone are still about 110-115. While most of the winds within Gustav are likely well-below 90MPH sustained, given the continued very cold cloudtops bursting off and on in the IR channels, it seems reasonable enough to assume that something around 100 knots 1-min averaged could very well be mixing down to the surface somewhere in the cyclone, most possibly either just within the western eyewall, or in particular, up to 70 miles east-southeast of the eye itself, as by far most of the strongest winds have tended to remain on the eastern side of the storm, and still over water or just now coming inland.

Track-wise, it appears that Gustav may be starting to turn a little bit, now possibly leaning a touch towards the left side of northwest. This could prolong the time he spends over water, and also extend farther west the potential for storm surge, and hurricane-force winds along and near the coastline, as well as offshore. As for the surge, at this angle of approach the potential for very significant surge should be reduced some, as water will not funnel as efficiently outside of a few nooks and crannies, but will continue to represent a real threat.