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Hurricane or tropical storm watches were issued from Galveston to Pascagoula, Miss., a 390-mile stretch of Gulf Coast that includes the Houston area and New Orleans. Much of that region was smacked just last week by Tropical Storm Isidore. Forecasters said Lili, which at 10 p.m. was in the southeast gulf near Cuba and the Yucatan, could strike with winds of 120 mph, a major Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center said that a hurricane warning probably would be issued for part of the Gulf Coast this morning. Once again, coastal residents boarded up homes, workers evacuated offshore oil rigs and city employees stockpiled sandbags. Communications were interrupted with western Cuba, and the full extent of the damage could not be determined. But an amateur radio operator on the Isle of Youth reported "devastating effects," including major flooding, downed trees and shredded power lines. He and other sources relayed no reports of injuries. Hurricane forecasters said Lili's winds increased to 100 mph as it hit western Cuba as a Category 2 storm on the five-category Saffir-Simpson scale. They warned of 8 to 12 inches of rain, and a tidal storm surge of 8 to 10 feet - plus higher waves. Next, Lili was expected to intensify in the Gulf of Mexico and draw a bead on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The projected path suggested that the hurricane's core would make landfall Thursday afternoon in western Louisiana around Lake Charles. But nasty weather will begin long before then, and forecasters warned that such projections often change. Shuttle launch delayed "Given the spread of the guidance and the uncertainties of the forecast, neither the New Orleans or Houston-Galveston areas are out of danger," said forecaster Jack Beven of the National Hurricane Center in west Miami-Dade County. In response, NASA postponed today's launch of space shuttle Atlantis. Engineers were concerned that Lili could impair communications at the Johnson Space Center near Houston. Many people in the region were still repairing damage from Isidore. Now, they must also prepare for a stronger assault by nature. In Grand Isle, a barrier island in southeastern Louisiana, crews patched levees damaged by Isidore. "We're working around the clock right at the moment," said Ray Santiny, a council member. I-10 may be closed In New Orleans, officials discussed the possibility of closing Interstate 10 - a major evacuation route out of the city - if the highway begins to flood, as it did during Isidore. In Terrebonne and St. Bernard parishes, officials stocked up on sandbags. Both parishes were hit hard by rain from Isidore, which dumped more than 20 inches of rain in places. Meanwhile, forecasters were pleased to bid farewell to September, the busiest tropical weather month since sophisticated hurricane tracking began in the 1940s - and possibly since 1851, when less precise record-keeping began. Eight named storms and one tropical depression formed last month, as the previously tame hurricane season exploded into action. Four of those systems strengthened into hurricanes. "The gate was held closed for the longest time, but if finally opened," said Frank Lepore, a spokesman for the hurricane center. "The forecasters are tired, but it's a good kind of tired. They're satisfied they've done a good job."
Graphic: Hurricane Lili by the numbers 6 Percent chance that Lili could severely affect Corpus Christi. 7 The number of people killed by Lili in Jamaica and St. Vincent. 130,000 The number of Cubans who have fled the storm, 30,000 to government shelters,the rest are staying with friends and family in safer parts of the island. 0 The number of flights Cubana Airlines made Tuesday. 2 The number of weeks since Hurricane Isidore hit the same part of Cuba.
Source: The Associated Press
Graphic: Locator Map Hurricane Lili As of 10 p.m. Tuesday Latitude: 23.3 north Longitude: 86.3 west Moving: toward the west-northwest at about 16 mph Maximum wind: 105 mph Credit: Caller-Times
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