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The storm has weakened to a category 3 but will likely strengthen again before landfall.

The track hasn’t changed. Click here for the latest.

According to media sources, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told residents today at a press conference: “You need to be scared. You need to be concerned. You need to get your butt out of New Orleans. This is the storm of the century.”

Not exactly how I would have put it. I don’t think it’s the mayor’s place to tell people they need to be scared. None-the-less, this storm is shaping up to be very serious. Perhaps even worse than Katrina. Time will tell. Here’s the latest satellite imagery from the National Hurricane Center:

AND, the latest track has the storm coming ever closer to South Arkansas. Keep in mind that heavy rains and steady winds are a high possibility by mid-week.

Maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. Looks like we should brace for some severe weather early next week as the storm moves ashore and heads toward Texas.

Click here for the latest.

Click here for more on the New Orleans evacuation.

This is the latest satellite imagery of Gustav.

The storm has reached category 3 strength and will likely continue on its track toward Louisiana over the next couple of days. The newest track shows the storm crooking sharply to the northwest once it makes landfall, so that could put South Arkansas out of the danger zone as far as pounding winds and rains. It’s too early to tell.

Still, the forecast for El Dorado Tuesday and Wednesday calls for heavy rain.

Click here for the latest on Gustav.

As you can see from the above image, Gustav’s eye is now clearly visible. The storm has become an official hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say Gustav will make landfall in Louisiana early Tuesday morning as a possible category 3 storm. A category 3 storm would batter the coast with winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.

As Gustav churns northward, Gulf Coast residents are scrambling north as well. Hotel rooms are scarce in South Arkansas. As I reported here earlier, the desk clerk at the Holiday Inn Express in Camden said that the property does have rooms available this weekend and beginning on Wednesday.

The nearest available rooms for Monday through Wednesday are in Bryant, the clerk said.

If you know anyone who needs a room, try the Holiday Inn Express in Camden at (870) 836-8100.

The hotel clerk said that they have residents from Louisiana checking in today, and the rooms are going fast.

The best bet to find a hotel is to call around, as cancellations can happen.

The Camden News this afternoon is reporting that there are a few rooms available at the Super 8 hotel at 942 Adams Ave. They are going quickly, though.

The South Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross reports that shelters at College Avenue Church of Christ at at St. John’s Baptist Church on Wilson Street have been put on standby.

The New Orleans Times Picayune reports this morning that Gustav is still on a Louisiana track today, just a little further west of New Orleans than first predicted. The storm may grow to a category 4 just before landfall.

Click here for the latest.

Here’s the latest track, according to the National Hurricane Center: