Watching hurricane Katrina dance briefly over Florida before heading into the Gulf on her way to Louisiana and Mississippi, I was amazed at how the storm dropped to tropical storm strength before rapidly climbing back to a category 5 hurricane, only to fall back to a category 4 storm before making landfall.  With friends in New Orleans, I've watched the storm's progress with great interest.  Given the city is well below sea level (by six feet, give or take), flooding, which is already taking place, is the biggest concern, seconded by the normal damage hurricanes cause.

Having already made landfall in Florida and Louisiana, Katrina's third landfall later this afternoon will be in Mississippi.  Both states are likely to suffer the storm's wrath in many ways.  One of my friends in New Orleans said they were already without power around 5:00 AM CDT this morning.  Knowing how that usually goes down there, I'm betting they'll be without power for 7-10 days at least, but I certainly hope I'm wrong.