The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that Gustav has weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall over Haiti on Tuesday afternoon. However, the storm will intensify as it moves over the warm water of the Caribbean, and is expected to be a Category 3 hurricane by the time in moves through the Yucatan Channel into the Gulf of Mexico. Gustav would become the first major hurricane in the Gulf since Wilma during the historic 2005 hurricane season.

Fears that Tropical Storm Gustav will become a major hurricane before reaching the oil production areas in the Gulf of Mexico have sent oil prices soaring.

According to Expert Senior Meteorologist John Kocet, "There is nothing in Gustav's path that will hinder development. There is a strong probability that it will be a Category 3 storm by the time it enters the Gulf, and it has the potential to strengthen into a Category 4 or 5 storm over the Gulf."

Four to 8 inches of rain will fall on Hispaniola, Jamaica and eastern Cuba, with some areas receiving as much as 16 inches. The storm could pass over the Cayman Islands early on Friday before passing between Cuba and the Yucatan peninsula overnight on Saturday.

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