Outer bands hit Louisiana in this radar screen?

Question

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200807_radar.html#a_topad

So why is it saying it is not hitting Louisiana right now? Why is it when only the eye hits land is when they say the hurricane hits land?

I hope I made sense asking this question.

Answer 1

The eye is the main part of the storm. The storm could move and hit galveston, can't go around giving credit to storms for damage and hits that weren't done.

Answer 2

While some of the rain bands from the hurricane are just SE of Louisiana now, what is monitored are the hurricane winds/ rain and associated damage.

Florida is getting a lot of rain bands from the storm now as well, but if you were sitting in your front yard, there would be no way to distinguish those thunderstorms from a hurricane or just your average storms.

What is looked at is when and where the eye makes landfall as that will have the most severe impact in terms of damage.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Answer 3

A hurricane can be several hundreds of miles in diameter, but the strongest portion of the storm is concentrated close to the center.  The center of Gustav is expected to make landfall sometime tomorrow (Monday), even though the initial effects of the hurricane are, or will be, impinging on the coastal areas today and tonight.