Date Posted: August 26, 2008. Tropical Storm Gustav, the seventh named storm of the season, developed in the Caribbean Sea south of Hispaniola on Monday, with an initial intensity of 60mph and  developed into a Hurricane early on Tuesday.  The official Hurricane Center 5:00am August 26, 2008 bulletin is included below. 

000 WTNT32 KNHC 260848
TCPAT2
BULLETIN HURRICANE GUSTAV ADVISORY NUMBER   5
 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL072008
500 AM EDT TUE AUG 26 2008 ...
GUSTAV STRENGTHENING SOUTH OF HAITI...SHOULD MAKE LANDFALL LATER TODAY...

AT 5 AM EDT...0900 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA HAS ISSUED A HURRICANE WATCH FOR THE CUBAN PROVINCES OF LAS TUNAS... GRANMA...HOLGUIN...SANTIAGO DE CUBA...AND GUANTANAMO. ALSO THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA HAS CHANGED THE TROPICAL STORM WATCH TO A HURRICANE WATCH FOR JAMAICA.  A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM BARAHONA IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WESTWARD TO LE MOLE ST NICHOLAS HAITI.  PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.

A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HAITI FROM LE MOLE ST NICHOLAS TO THE NORTHERN HAITI/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BORDER. INTERESTS IN CENTRAL AND WESTERN CUBA AND THE CAYMAN ISLANDS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF GUSTAV.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 500 AM EDT...0900Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE GUSTAV WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 71.9 WEST OR ABOUT 100 MILES... 160 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF PORT AU PRINCE HAITI AND ABOUT 300 MILES ...480 KM...SOUTHEAST OF GUANTANAMO CUBA. GUSTAV IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY WITH A TURN TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AND A DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED FORECAST ON WEDNESDAY. 

ON THIS TRACK THIS HURRICANE SHOULD MOVE OVER SOUTHWESTERN HAITI LATER TODAY AND NEAR OR JUST SOUTH OF CUBA ON WEDNESDAY.  MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 85 MPH...140 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  GUSTAV IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. 

 THE HURRICANE COULD BECOME A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BEFORE LANDFALL IN HAITI LATER TODAY.  HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE AS REPORTED FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS 984 MB...29.06 INCHES. GUSTAV IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES OVER SOUTHERN HISPANIOLA AND JAMAICA...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF UP TO 15 INCHES POSSIBLE. 

THESE INTENSE RAINS MAY PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 2-4 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. REPEATING THE 500 AM EDT POSITION...17.2 N...71.9 W.  MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH.  MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...984 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 800 AM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 1100 AM EDT.