Goodbye Gustav…Hello Hanna, Ike and Josephine

The good news is that Hurricane Gustav has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression as it moves slowly across northwest Louisiana.

The bad news is that Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine are gaining speed, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Gustav’s wake, a tornado watch is in effect for portions of eastern Louisiana and western Mississippi. A flood watch is in effect for most of Louisiana, Mississippi and southwest Alabama, as well as northeast Texas, southern Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma through into Wednesday.

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Hanna is bringing 70 m.p.h. winds and drenching rains to the Bahamas and Haiti. A hurricane warning has been sounded for the Bahamas as Hanna heads for Cuba and the Florida peninsula.

Hanna is expected to move to the north-northwest in the next 24 hours, coming to a landfall along the U.S. east coast anywhere from Miami to the Outer Banks, N.C., before the end of the week, reports Steve E. Smith, president, Property Solutions, at Carvill ReAdvisory.

Smith said that a landfall intensity of a Cat 1 hurricane or higher is possible, although it is equally likely that Hanna will remain as a tropical storm.

While Hanna threatens the Outer Banks, Tropical Storm Ike is strengthening over the central Atlantic, east of the Leeward Islands. It is expected to get stronger and could reach hurricane force by the end of the week, potentially threatening the Bahamas or Puerto Rico.

Also, Tropical Storm Josephine is off the Cape Verde Islands and could become a hurricane by Wednesday or Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.