Gustav Building in the Gulf

Sat Aug 30, 3:52 PM ET

Lines in New Orleans waiting for buses to leave the city, grew longer Saturday and traffic grew heavier on main highways as Hurricane Gustav strengthened into a dangerous storm on track for the Gulf Coast. The city had yet to call for a mandatory evacuation, but began ushering out the sick, elderly and those without their own transportation on today. Many residents aren't waiting for a formal evacuation call, cars packed with clothes, boxes and pet carriers were heading north among heavy traffic on Interstate 55.

Sat Aug 30, 4:08 PM ET

If it follows the projected path it would likely make landfall on Louisiana's central coast. Tt's maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, make it just 6 mph shy of the Category 4 threshold and is called an "extremely dangerous" storm.. In Cuba shrieking 150 mph (240 kph) winds toppled telephone poles, mango and almond trees and peeled back the tin roofs of homes. It's now a Cat. 4 and on the way to being a Cat.5, by the time it hits the Gulf of Mexico..........and the US..........