Tagged: hurricane

It's had top sustained winds above 170 miles per hour. It's got very low pressure. It is life threatening. And its cone of possible landfall includes Okinawa and the Asian mainland.

It's super typhoon Sanba, and it could strike the Japanese island by late Saturday night (local time) before storming on to China, South Korea and North Korea. Stars and Stripes writer Dave Ornauer says the storm's outermost bands are already hitting Okinawa:

The story of Hurricane Isaac will more than likely be one of flooding. The National Hurricane Center says that some places along the Mississippi and Louisiana coast could see up to 18 inches of rain.

Over five days, the tropical system will spread rain far and wide.

How widespread, you ask? Look at this map put together by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It shows their prediction of how much rain will fall in the next five days:

While soon-to-be Hurricane Isaac isn't looking like another Katrina, the storm is expected to pick up steam as it heads toward a landfall, conjuring up powerful memories of the disaster seven years ago.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency for New Orleans on Sunday, warning residents to "think about how you will spend time without power or water."

Tropical Storm Isaac has been difficult to track, but its potential to affect Florida has caused the Republican National Convention to change its plans. Events for Monday have been canceled, though the committee will convene briefly. As Alan Greenblatt reported for It's All Politics, this is now the second-consecutive Republican National Convention to be delayed by a storm.

Update at 8:55 p.m. ET. Nomination Delayed: