4:45am

Not sure why my updates are out of sync right now.  I'll see what I can do to fix it later today.

Storm is now officially ashore.  There is word about levee topping south of the city, outside the Federal levee system.  If the flooding is bad, look for this to become a hot button issue in the near future once recovery begins.

Storm's pressure is rising, which is good.  The 4:00a hurricane update had the pressure raising 3 milli-bars which is good per the intrepid weather men but the real lack of movement is what is bothering people the most.

The worst part of the storm is hitting New Orleans right now.  It sounds like the monster from Cloverfield is outside my hotel window.  I hope it's the wind whipping around the buildings but you never know.

All billboards that I can see at the entrance to the Quarter are still up and intact though, in other areas of the city, there are shots of billboards that have been ripped to shreds and now flap carelessly in the wind.  There is no damage to the metal structure, but the advertisement is history.

If you ever watched "Swamp People" on the Discovery Channel, that area is getting it bad.  Most of Southern Louisiana is taking it on the chin since the eye is right on top of it and watching transformers blow is quickly becoming the reporters, who are in the area, new time killing venture. 

I was messing with the flashlight the hotel gave me, it doesn't work.  Glad I brought my own. 

So apparently tropical storms are tall enough storms to create lighting.  Guess that explains my lack of lighting and thunder experience.  Most storms need to be in the 40,000 feet in height to create lighting and most tropical systems, for the most part, are around 30,000 feet.  Sometimes there can be tall clouds at the center of the storm that may produce some lighting and thunder but usually, it isn't common.