Will Hurricane Isaac Be a 'Drought Killer'? Tropical Storm Isaac
at 10:25 a.m. EDT on Aug. 28, just before being declared a
hurricane. Image taken by NOAA's GOES-13 satellite. Hurricane
Isaac is barreling toward U.S. shores, bringing an onslaught of
roaring winds, dangerous storm surges and punishing downpours to
the Gulf Coast. But the storm's effects won't stop there.
Hurricane Isaacis projected to bring rain to a huge portion of
the United States far from the Gulf Coast. And at a time when
the nation's agricultural hub is in the grip of a devastating
drought, the sudden rains may not prove to be much of a
blessing. As Isaac's projected path takes it marching inland, it
will run into a cold front dropping down from Canada, which will
set the stage for downpours across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
states, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the National
Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. All
that moisture in Hurricane Isaac "is going to get stretched out
along that cold front and w