Isaac is struggling to become a hurricane.
As of late Monday night, Isaac was a tropical storm with steady wind speeds of 70 miles per hour.
Satellite imagery showed an eye briefly beginning to form before quickly blinking shut.
As Isaac has moved north toward the U.S. Gulf Coast the storm has been running into dry air which has robbed it of energy.
However, forecasters at the Nation Hurricane Center in Miami believe the storm will gain enough strength to become a category one hurricane with wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour by early Tuesday morning.
The latest forecast from NHC predicts that Isaac will move north at about 10 miles per hour along the eastern edge of the hot high pressure ridge that produced the recent heat wave over central California.
The center of Isaac is forecast to make landfall near New Orleans early Tuesday evening with bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms, hurricane strength wind of at least 74 miles per hour and a high storm surge.
A storm surge is the amount of ocean water pushed onshore by the strong wind and low pressure air.
Isaac's storm surge may be even higher since the water may rush ashore during high tide.
The coast of Louisiana and Mississippi could have storm surges of 6 to 12-feet.
Isaac is also forecast to slow down it's forward movement just before it makes landfall which could increase the amount of rain that falls along the coast.
Generally the forecast calls for 6-12 inches of rain with some areas possibly getting as much as 18-inches.
Storms like Isaac need a few things to gain strength - chiefly warm water of 82-degrees or above, lots and lots of warm, moist air (produced mainly by the warm water) and a fairly calm atmosphere that won't rip the storm apart with "outside" wind.
When hurricanes make landfall they quickly lose strength and wind speed but heavy rain and severe thunderstorms are still likely as the remnants sweep across the landscape.
##
