Storm Hanna Keeps Forecasters Guessing Behind Gustav

MIAMI - Even as Gustav menaced Louisiana, forecasters on Monday were already watching Tropical Storm Hanna, churning over the Bahamas on an erratic path that could bring it to the U.S. Southeast coast later in the week.

The National Hurricane Center said Hanna had stalled near the southeastern Bahamas with winds of about 50 mph and could strengthen into a hurricane by midweek. Long-range computer models disagreed sharply on where it might go.

"The track forecast is unusually uncertain," the hurricane center said, noting that Hanna's fate depends in part on how it interacts with Gustav's circulation and with a high-pressure ridge building over the Atlantic.

Behind Hanna, yet another tropical system — Tropical Depression Nine — formed in the open Atlantic, a reminder that the season is nearing its Sept. 10 statistical peak.

Emergency managers in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas said they were monitoring Hanna but keeping resources focused on their own Labor Day beach crowds. Florida's governor urged residents to refresh hurricane kits.

The 2008 season has been active: Bertha became the longest-lived July hurricane on record, and Dolly struck South Texas in July as a Category 2 storm.

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