Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Heads for Haiti, Gulf

By Brian K. Sullivan and Alex Morales

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Gustav is forecast to make landfall later today in Haiti and may enter the Gulf of Mexico, home to more than a fifth of U.S. oil production.

Gustav's sustained winds strengthened to 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory just before 8 a.m. Miami time. The system, located 75 miles south-southeast of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, was heading northwest at 9 mph.

``This time next week it will be somewhere in the Gulf,'' said Eric Wilhelm, senior meteorologist at private forecaster AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. ``All the states lining the Gulf Coast of the U.S. will be on the lookout.''

Gustav will probably intensify into a Category 2 hurricane later today with winds of at least 96 mph and may develop into a Category 3 or 4 by the end of the week, Wilhelm said. Hurricanes are rated on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with Categories 3 or higher deemed ``major'' storms, with winds of 111 mph and higher.

Crude oil for October delivery pared an earlier loss, falling 0.7 percent to $114.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil Production

``It may disrupt the production of oil next week,'' said Paul Walker, a meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc.

Forecasts from the Hurricane Center show Gustav striking Haiti later today and then following a track between Jamaica in the south and Cuba to the north. Wilhelm said that path will give the hurricane access to the warm waters of the Caribbean and let it gather strength.

Sometime between Aug. 30 and 31, the hurricane will likely be between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico heading for the Gulf.

Gustav follows the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay, which last week left a trail of death and flooding in the Caribbean and Florida, where it made an unprecedented four landfalls.

Haiti in recent years has proved vulnerable to flooding and mudslides caused by storms because deforestation has left the nation short of vegetation to hold rainwater and soil.

A hurricane warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The storm may bring 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain to parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica, the U.S. center said.

``Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,'' the center said. ``Interests in central and western Cuba and the Cayman Islands should closely monitor the progress of Gustav.''

Gustav formed yesterday as a depression and then a tropical storm, before reaching the 74 mph threshold for a hurricane early today. Gustav is the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecasters predict 14 to 18 named storms will develop this year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net; Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net