MONTGOMERY — Gov. Bob Riley says state agencies are keeping a close watch on Tropical Storm Gustav as its spins its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Riley urges residents on the Alabama coast to be in storm-preparation mode and review their personal emergency plans.
In a statement Wednesday, the governor said Alabama Emergency Management Director Brock Long has been in contact with FEMA and the National Hurricane Center to make sure state officials are ready to deal with Gustav.
As of 6 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Gustav was located off the eastern coast of Jamaica heading west southwest at 6 p.m. It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Forecasters call for Gustav to make the turn back toward the west, then west northwest, and increase in intensity as it approaches western Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Weather Service's five-day Gustav forecast, which changes several times per day, has Gustav storming through the Gulf over the weekend and approaching Louisiana sometime Tuesday. This forecast shifted overnight from east of New Orleans to central and west Louisiana. It will likely change again.
Alabamians can find helpful information on storm preparedness at www.readyalabama.org and www.emaalabama.gov.
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