2008 Atlantic hurricane season
A disturbance formed in the deep tropical Atlantic in the fourth week of August. It tracked westward into the Caribbean Sea where it encountered better conditions for cyclone development, and became a tropical depression on the morning of August 25, west of the Windward Islands. It quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Gustav early that afternoon and into Hurricane Gustav early on August 26. It then weakened into a tropical storm on the evening of August 27. It re-organized further south into a strong tropical storm once again on August 28 before speeding up and hitting Jamaica. Gustav has killed 78 people in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, while 7 are still missing in Haiti. On August 29, it strengthened back into a hurricane. On the morning of August 30, it was upgraded to a Category 3 major hurricane. After strengthening slowed for a few hours, another round of quick strengthening happened and Gustav was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane during a hurricane hunter flight around 1pm (EDT), with 145 mph winds. Continuing to intensify, it became a 150 mph storm that afternoon near 5 P.M. EDT. Soon after Gustav made landfall in Cuba, firstly on the island of Isla de la Juventud and later on the mainland near Los Palacios in Pinar del Río Province, causing severe damage, although it is difficult to predict how much damage it caused. It then emerged into the Gulf of Mexico weakening into a minimal 115 mph. It was expected to hit Louisiana so the mayor of New Orleans evacuated the city. At 8 a.m. CDT on the 2nd September it was reported to have weakened to category 2.