Early this morning, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast with 145mph winds. My dear friend Kaye Trammell is an LSU professor in Baton Rouge, and blogging the event as she keeps vigil at her apartment. Another friend from growing up, Ben Legg, is a meteorologist in Lafayette for KLFY - part of a three-man reporting team. And to round things out, Brendan Loy is a local blogger in New Orleans and has maintained updates since Katrina was making landfall in Florida over the weekend.

What do we understand about hurricanes these days? Researchers are walking the careful tightrope of crying wolf and issuing a legitimate warning, so we have a ways to go. The recent National Geographic film, Forces of Nature, has an excellent primer on both the historical and current study of hurricanes. The new PBS series, NOVA Science Now, did an excellent 12-minute piece on current research and eerily focused on New Orleans as the case study.

Friends, stay high and dry and keep your heads!