The center of Hurricane Gustav is moving on a course that will take it farther south of Alexandria than initially forecast, meaning Natchitoches Parish and the southern parts of the ArkLaTex will see lower winds than expected.
That will not, however, change the likelihood of very heavy rains tonight through Tuesday. And there are concerns about spinoff tornadoes in this area from Gustav.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said this afternoon the center of the storm probably will move across Vernon Parish rather than Natchitoches and Rapides parishes.
Rain bands will be pushing into Central Louisiana early this afternoon with winds of 20 to 25 mph. Those will get stronger as the storm moves in.
While Gustav will weaken as it gets completely on land, there will be tropical storm-force winds of 40 to 50 mph in southern parts of the ArkLaTex from Natchitoches to Nacogdoches.
The rest of the ArkLaTex will see winds of 20 to 30 mph tonight and Tuesday.
The ArkLaTex should expect very heavy rainfall as Gustav moves into East Texas through Tuesday night. It could take three or four days for the storm to get completely out of the ArkLaTex, forecasters said.
