Katrina opens assault on Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Hurricane Katrina brought heavy rain and high wind to the Gulf Coast Sunday, on course to make landfall Monday with near-160 mph winds and waves over 20 feet.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Katrina was about 105 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and 170 miles south-southeast of New Orleans, moving toward the north-northwest at almost 10 mph. The storm was expected to turn to the north during the next 12 to 24 hours.

A Hurricane Warning was posted for the north central Gulf Coast from Morgan City, La., eastward to the Alabama-Florida border -- including the City of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Watch were posted from east of the Alabama-Florida border to Destin, Fla., and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City, La.

NHC Director Max Mayfield called Katrina "one of the most powerful hurricanes on record."

If New Orleans gets Katrina's full thrust, it could be the most devastating hurricane to hit the city since Betsy in September 1965. The storm surge could be 18 to 22 feet above normal levels, with coastal flooding to occur, the NHC said.

Forecasters said isolated tornadoes would be possible Sunday evening over southern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and over the Florida panhandle.